Elite Assassination: The Core of feelings
by Sakura Rikami
Summary: In an alternate universe, where Sasuke is a gunwielding merciless assassin, Naruto is a hot kitsune and Hinata is a nanotechnology bioweapon, many things aren’t what they seem...Chapter Nine is up!: The pain of a heart being broken; darknened dreams.
1. The Assassin and the Kitsune

Summary: In an alternate universe, where Sasuke is a gun-wielding merciless assassin, Naruto is a hot kitsune and Hinata has split personalities, many things aren't what they seem. Watch the humour, angst and insane random things happen as they stumble over each other in life.

Parings: NaruxHinaxSasu, One-sided NejixHina, TemarixShikaxIno and others.

Warning: Possible deep angst at certain times. Slight swearing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Also, I do not own the whole 'position number in the organization thing', I just thought it would be cool to make Sasuke have the same number as Train (from Black Cat). To put it simply, anything that seems similar to the anime Black Cat, or Naruto is copyrighted and **not** mine.

* * *

Chapter One: The Assassin and the Kitsune

**-Flashback-**

A teenage boy of mere thirteen years old was summoned to the Hokage's office. As he stepped in, a cold feeling washed over the people inside. He was doing nothing but putting his hands in the deep pockets of his long, black dark coat. Everything on him was either black or dark colored, including his raven hair and eyes. The boy had a slim figure and broad shoulders. The long coat covered most of his skin and he wore a glove that only covered his palm but not his fingers. A pair of twin guns sat silently on his brown belt that was slanted down on his left.

Wearing an irritated look, he frowned. At the same time, his eyes seem to flash murderously in the brightly lit office. "It's late."

The Hokage, although slightly intimidated, was not one who would give in to fear easily. She calmly stood up and flicked her blond hair, which was tied into two low, dangling ponytails. "Ah. Number Thirteen."

Silence ensued. A tapping sound could be heard as the Hokage tried to phrase her next sentence properly.

The boy's cold but calm eyes continued to glare at her. It would seem as though she was wasting his time. It _was_ his break, after all, and he needed sleep badly or something within him might just snap.

A few more seconds passed.

Unable to wait for her to arrange her mind properly, the boy shifted slightly and spoke in a low voice, "And…? Have you called me here just to torture the living daylights out of me?"

The Hokage gave a faked smile. "Definitely not. I have much better things to do, my dear child."

"Stop trying to sound old."

This time, she laughed genuinely. "Ah. But I am."

At this moment, the boy's eyes seemed to flash a blood red momentarily before reverting back to its original color. "Wonderful. I'll never answer any summons from you ever again. So just spit it out." It was not really clear whether he really meant it or was just trying to be sarcastic.

"Alright."

She snapped her fingers and the doors to the office opened. Another boy with yellow hair stepped in. His choice of clothes would not lose to the raven-haired one, since almost all who worked in their line had almost the same tastes for the design of clothes. However, he was wearing the colors of mainly orange and white, which the raven-haired boy found to be slightly annoying.

"Hey, granny. What's up?" A grin appeared on his face.

The Hokage immediately lost her composure and smacked him on the head. "Behave."

_Women. One moment they admit to being old, the next thing you know, they would deny it again._ The boy in the dark coat could feel himself sighing inwardly.

"Anyway." Her attention focused back on the boy. "Number Thirteen. This is your new partner, Uzumaki Naruto. Also known as Number Ten." She turned while pointing and accidentally poked Naruto in the eye. The poor yellow-haired boy bent down and moaned in pain. "Granny! What the hell!" The other boy said nothing, but watched them carefully.

"As you can probably see with your _amazing_ observation skills, he is a complete moron."

"Now, why would you assign a moron to partner _me?_" A sinister voice crept up his throat. He took his hands out of his coat and shrugged.

"I would like you to show him what it means to be an elite assassin. Teach him, and prove to me that I haven't assigned you two together in vain."

"I work alone."

"Now you don't. Besides, this boy has potential. Your powers would increase with competition, I'm sure."

"I swear I'll kill him if he screws up."

"Be my guest if he does." The Hokage smiled once more.

"Naruto." She commanded and the boy stood up, now alert. "Here's your new partner, Uchiha Sasuke. He's the best assassin we ever had in here and he's in charge of training you." Naruto observed Sasuke slowly from head to toe. "To be honest, I was expecting someone older." By now, his cerulean eyes were strangely dangerous looking as well. A serious look finally came across his face. "You sure, Granny?"

"Yes, I am." She sighed and sat back down. Talking to Sasuke was tiring enough, now she had to deal with Naruto as well.

"Well. It's nice meeting you then." Naruto stuck out a hand and smiled at Sasuke, who gazed back in contempt.

"Hn."

"Naruto, that guy doesn't shake hands." The Hokage spoke, without looking up from her large stack of paperwork.

Trying to look downcast, Naruto shrugged. "Okay then."

It was then Sasuke finally gave another sinister smile.

"Usuratonkachii."

**-Flashback Ends-

* * *

**

(A/N: If it helps, they were both 13 years old in the flashback when they first met. Now, they are both 18 years old.)

A single person with a long, dark flowing coat stood on a building in front of the palace. It was night, but he could easily count the amount of guards below.

"20…30…50…"

_There's at least fifty._ It was not really a problem for him though. He could wipe out the entire city easily if he wanted to.

"Sasuke." A low voice whispered and another figure appeared deftly. Sasuke turned around and nodded. "How is it?"

"The leader is in the church he built in. I think he probably thinks that he would be safe there."

"Well, there are fifty men. I intend to take them all down. You ready?"

"No shit. I thought we aren't suppose to kill anybody except the target?"

"I didn't say I would kill them."

"Like, duh. How else would you take down _fifty_ armed and possibly, dangerous guards without even killing one of them?"

"Just shut up and follow the plan." Without waiting for an answer, Sasuke jumped down the building at an almost inhuman speed and headed for the first wave. Shouts of 'intruder' and 'fire' was heard as the sound of gunshots rang in the air and bullets rained on him. Dodging most of them, Sasuke continued to move with a god-like speed and flicked out his twin guns. He deflected a couple of bullets that were in his way and slammed the handle of his gun onto the back of each guard's neck.

One by one, they fell.

"Just like always." Naruto muttered as he followed his partner quickly. The both of them managed to get into the building effortlessly and Naruto could have sworn that Sasuke was _strolling_ in. Wave by wave, every single one of the guards was eliminated by the raven-haired boy. Finally, they opened the last door.

"You've got to be kidding me." The kitsune cursed.

There were at least another fifty men inside the room itself and every one of them seemed stronger than the ones outside. The leader stood on the platform at the back of the room. He was trying to keep his cool, but was obviously jittery from the fact that two of the strongest assassins were standing in the same room as him. Sasuke's eyes flashed a blood red.

"Sa…Sasuke?" Naruto whispered apprehensively.

"Transform. Now." With that, he leapt at the guards and gunshots started to sound once again. This time, the enemy was even carrying machine guns and that was something that could be dangerous. Jumping over them and somersaulting in the air, Sasuke twisted his body around. With a calm look on his face, he fired two shots that hit both of the enemy directly on the forehead, causing instant death.

Naruto, sensing that the situation was not right, immediately did as Sasuke said. A large, powerful red aura surrounded him and his eyes turned red as well, but was distinctively different from Sasuke's. It was more like the eyes of an animal. Large furry ears appeared on his head and nine long, smooth and slender tails appeared behind him. His teeth grew sharper and his fingernails were sharpened. Naruto's usual short hair also grew longer from behind and his whole appearance nearly changed. Seeing this transformation, the enemy was stunned for the few seconds before one grabbed one of his nine tails.

Naruto turned around with a look that could have scared the living daylights out of anybody. His eyes flashed murderously. "Didn't anybody tell you that it is bad luck to grab onto one of the nine tails of the fox demon, Kyuubi?" With a wicked smile, he immediately set the man aflame and watched him burn to ashes.

The kitsune wiped his coat as if it had been dirtied and cracked his knuckles. "Who's next?"

Meanwhile, Sasuke already arrived at the leader and was pointing his gun at the back of his head. Stuttering, the leader asked fearfully, "Wh…Who are you…people…?"

Sasuke gazed at him. "We're from _Fallen_, the Elite Assassination core from Konoha. I'm sure you know what you have done to deserve this." While he was speaking, the man caught a glimpse of the number XIII that was carved onto Sasuke's shoulder blade.

"You…you're the…legendary…assassin…"

"I came to deliver bad luck."

(A/N: This line is copyrighted by the anime Black Cat. I do not own it. It's just a nice sentence.)

Saying so, Sasuke fired a shot directly into the man's back, making sure that he had hit a vital point. The man fell onto the floor.

The raven-haired boy stepped over his corpse and surveyed the room. It was completely filled with blood and nobody was left alive except for the both for Naruto and him. The fox demon stood quietly in the middle of the mess. "Job's over?"

"Yes."

"You barely sweat and not a single drop of blood can be found on you." Naruto observed. _Sasuke is good. I'll have to agree on that._ On the other hand, Naruto was sweating like mad and a couple of drops of blood could be seen on his white and orange coat.

"Darn it. I need a bath."

"You need more practice…" The assassin spoke as he walked out of the room. "Elite assassins do not leave traces of evidence that would lead back to them."

"Yes. Yes." Naruto waved a hand, irritably. "I know that already."

Once he was outside the building, Sasuke spoke with his back facing Naruto. "Naruto…Burn the place down." Naruto knew his reasons for doing so and used his foxfire to burn the curtains, chairs and anything else that could burn. The whole palace collapsed in no time at all. Everybody in the city was alarmed and tried to save the fire, without knowing that the culprits were walking away from the scene at that very moment.

"Ne…Sasuke." Naruto spoke up as they walked back to the village.

Sasuke replied with silence. His face focused on the dark forest that loomed over them.

"Do you want to get some food? Like ramen or something…I'm famished."

For once, Sasuke's face lightened up. He was hungry as well.

"Sure. But you'll have to treat me." A wicked grin played on his lips.

"Damn you, Teme." Naruto muttered.

"……"

"Fine. I'll treat you, but only because we're friends and partners!"

After that, Sasuke put his hands in his coat and his eyes changed back to a raven color instead of blood red. Naruto stretched his hands up and yawned openly. Then he sealed up Kyuubi's power once more. His large, furry ears and nine long tails disappeared. His eyes turned cerulean once more and his nail and teeth became like a normal human's.

"Urgh. I hate killing people when I don't need to."

"Do you think that you needn't kill those guards in there just now?"

"Well…no. They really were hard to handle without killing."

"Then, it's not a matter of choice. We're assassins." Sasuke gazed at the full moon, as if he was thinking of something from the past.

"Remember that, Naruto."

* * *

(Back in Konoha)

Both Naruto and Sasuke had changed into lighter and more _casual_ clothes instead of their usual assassin clothing. The kitsune had also gotten his long awaited bath and was feeling happy. It was already nearly midnight and the full moon hung over them as they ate at the ramen stall.

Naurto gobbled up the food quickly, while Sasuke simply ate slowly. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a shadow move. Knowing that the person would be of no threat to them, he ignored the person and continued eating.

At the same time, Naruto put his bowl forward and asked for more ramen. "One more bowl please!" Then he turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, you're eating so slowly."

The raven-haired boy did not look up and simply continued eating. "You eat too fast."

"Because it's nice! Plus, I'm hungry."

Naruto was secretly ignoring the mysterious spy as well. After all, he had been with Sasuke long enough to figure out that they were being spied on. The blond boy knew that his partner would have already aimed his gun at that person if he or she were dangerous.

"Ha. So much for being assassins. They can't even spot me from such a near distance." The voice laughed as the person watched them from behind a building. The person grinned wildly as she watched them eat their ramen contently.

"This is going to be fun."

* * *

Sakura: Chapter one finished! Man. I'm like…so excited about this plot, so I rushed it like mad. It's now 2am here. Anyways, if it seemed boring to you, I'm sorry…BUT! The next chapter would be much more interesting and more characters would be introduced. Keep on reading to find out what kind of powers they would have and whether they are enemies or friends.

A little more love would be injected into the next chapter.

**Please read and review! Any comments on the plot would be nice. Please, no flames and if you mention something about copying from the anime, Black Cat, I would simply laugh at you because I already did disclaimers.**


	2. A New Assignment?

Parings: NaruxHinaxSasu, One-sided NejixHina, TemarixShikaxIno and others.

Warning: Possible deep angst at certain times. Slight swearing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Also, I do not own the whole 'position number in the organization thing', I just thought it would be cool to make Sasuke have the same number as Train (from Black Cat). To put it simply, anything that seems similar to the anime Black Cat, or Naruto is copyrighted and **not** mine.

* * *

Chapter Two: A new assignment?

_The boy with the crimson eyes and auburn hair turned around to face his best friend._

"_Do you think you actually know anything? You act as if you care, but everything is just an act to get what you want."_

"_Furin...I don't mean it that way." His friend pleaded. How was he going to make him listen?_

"_Just shut up." He turned away from the person whom he really wanted to trust, but was unable to. He never wanted to see him ever again. It was his path and he was going to walk it alone._

_Before he left, he quietly whispered to his friend:_

"_Don't try to look into a darkness which you are not supposed to see. Don't try to think that you know me."

* * *

_

"Teme!" A voice interrupted the reading of the famous Uchiha Sasuke, legendary assassin of the organization _Fallen_ in the hidden village of Konoha. However, he did not look like one at the moment. He was wearing a pair of white shorts with a blue shirt that was extremely wide at the neck area. Also, he had something that looked like wristbands on both of his arms. Leaning against a tree, he was trying to read a book that he had borrowed from the library some time ago, but had not found the time to read.

_Damn. Isn't there any fighting in this crappy book? The last second line was good though... _He snapped the book shut and looked up at his partner.

"Hey there."

Naruto cocked his head to one side curiously. "What are you doing?"

"Reading." Sasuke lifted the book up right in front of Naruto's face. "What else did you think I was doing?"

"Uh…well…I mean…" The blond haired boy rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly. "You never really struck me as the type who would _read_."

"Naruto." Sasuke's raven colored eyes seem to reflect his impatience. Sighing, he stood up straight and gave the kitsune a light smack on the head with the book. "What do you think we are?"

"Uh…assassins?" He replied woefully as he rubbed his head.

"No, stupid. We're people in a _modernized_ _era_. Do I look like a caveman to you?"

Naruto tried to imagine Sasuke wielding a wooden club and waving it like a madman while speaking some kind of gibberish language. "Maybe…?"

Sasuke slammed the book on Naruto once again. "No, I don't."

"Ow!"

Regaining his cool composure, Sasuke continued explaining to his partner the reason why they should read books, while thinking why in the world such a moron was his partner in the first place. "Knowledge. It spills from the books. I know that we're assassins and that probably does not require us to think much as we simply kill our targets, but it doesn't mean that we can be morons."

"Well, I know that. But what I meant was why _you_, of all people, are the one who is reading a book? Like…I can imagine you brooding in a corner or sulking under the tree or doing some kind of over possessive stuff that you always do, but _reading a book_? To be honest, I can imagine a cat doing that much more so than I can imagine you doing that."

The raven-haired boy felt like killing his partner with his gun, but killing with a book seemed fun to him all of the sudden. It would need skill…and would be considered as an art. Just as he raised his book to hit Naruto once more, a cloaked figure appeared beside them.

"Number XIII (13) and number X. (10)" The soft whisper came from under the black hood.

Sasuke gazed at the person seriously, while Naruto also stopped fooling around. "There's a new assignment for you." The cloaked woman informed them. "Please report to the Hokage's office for further details now." She started to leave, as people might get suspicious if they saw her. After all, the organization was an unclear existence to those who never really encountered any of the assassins. It was as if it was there, but also seemed like only a rumor that was made up to scare people.

"Hey Shizune- I mean…Number One." Naruto spoke up. The cloaked figured turned around and stood still for a moment, as if staring at him. "I suggest you take off that coat next time. The weather has been hot."

Sasuke slapped his forehead with his palm.

Instead of reproaching Naruto for stopping her from leaving, the hooded figure seemed amused and gave a slight smile, "Thank you, I'll be fine." Saying which, she disappeared in a shroud of smoke.

Once she was gone, Sasuke shook his head. "Naruto…"

"Yeah?" Apparently, someone was still oblivious to what he had done.

"Never mind." _You're too kind._ Sasuke smiled to himself. Although his partner might be silly at times, but the thing which made him like Naruto more than the other people was because of his kind heart.

"Eww. Sasuke, you look like some kind of sick pervert who is smiling to himself."

…_I take that back._ The Uchiha twitched in anger.

* * *

(In a castle, not too far away from Konoha.)

"Just a little more…" A man grinned wildly. He had a maniacal look on his face and was observing a girl who was stripped to her undergarments and chained to the table. She was groaning from the pain though she was already semi-unconscious. The poor girl had no energy to try and break free from the chains that bound her to the bed. She did not even have the energy to remove the wires that were connected to her body.

_80 percent...86 percent..._

The man let out a crazed laughter and looked at the girl. "Soon, you would the pride of the family! Isn't that great? The ultimate machine... You would finally be of some use to your father…"

_90 percent...95 percent..._

The girl stopped moving and lay still on the table. Her eyelids were closed and she seemed so pale in the lighting of the laboratory. The man watched in glee as the final processes were completed.

A beep was heard. _100 percent._

Loud laughter burst forth from the man once more, "It's done! The Ultimate _Killing_ Machine! Hahahahahaha!!"

Slowly, the girl's eyelids fluttered open. Her pupils were white and emotionless. She sat up on the table and her long hair flowed over the table and almost touched the floor. She was beautiful, but something seemed extremely wrong with her.

"Are you awake, my sweet?" The man grinned.

"Yes, Master." A monotonous reply sounded.

* * *

(In the Hokage's office)

"Tsunade-baachan!" Naruto yelled as he kicked open the door after making sure that he emphasized on the word 'baa'. Sasuke stood behind him; both of them were already in their working uniforms. The raven-haired boy strolled into the room calmly while his partner practically bounced in.

"Number X…was there really a need to spoil my door?" The blond haired woman looked up from her never-ending pile of paperwork and sighed exasperatedly.

"It felt like fun." The kitsune smiled happily.

"Number XIII. Why did you stop him from doing so…?"

Sasuke looked away indignantly. "Hn. I got sick of waiting."

The Hokage sighed. _If there were any of the numbers that were hard to handle, it would be these two._ Sasuke was too complex for her to read his mind and Naruto was too simple for her to even bother to do so. The blond boy was noisy though, and Tsunade did not know whether she liked that.

"Fine…fine…" She picked up a file casually and tossed a photo to Naruto from it while passing the file to Sasuke. "This is a ranked S mission."

"EH?! Ranked S?" Naruto yelped. "But…you haven't given us one in ages!"

"What's the matter? Not up for it?"

"N…No…" Naruto knew that they needed the exercise badly, or their skills would probably become rusty. Meanwhile, Sasuke was reading the information given to him in a scanning fashion. His face was concentrated and a frown was seen after he was done.

"I don't suppose this is a random mission, like the ones you give us usually."

The Hokage smiled; her decision to send them was right. "Very intelligent, Number XIII. It's true, this is no ordinary mission."

Naruto looked at his partner curiously. "What is it, Sasuke?"

"Take a look at the photo in your hands."

The kitsune flipped the photo over and gazed at the girl in the picture who was smiling back at him. "Woah. She's cute." She had long dark blue colored hair and big white pearl-like eyes. In the picture, she was smiling happily at the camera while holding a bouquet of red roses. On her head was a plain straw hat and she was wearing a white colored one-piece dress.

"She's more than cute." The Hokage explained. "If you don't save this girl, she'll become cute _and_ deadly."

Sasuke was staring the Hokage with his usual dangerous look. Naruto frowned, "What do you mean?"

"She belongs to the Hyuuga family. I'm sure you have heard of them…right? Number XIII."

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke with a puzzled expression. "Hyuuga?"

The raven-haired boy seemed to be contemplating something for a second, before answering, "Those people belong to an ancient clan. I've never met one before, but I have definitely heard of them. Most of their descendants aren't normal human beings. They are said to descend from a mixed breed of humans and _angels_. Therefore, they possess a certain element each and if their genes are right, possibly even wings."

"Hell." The kitsune's eyes widened. "They sound formidable."

"Not really. I'm still stronger." Sasuke meant it, but Naruto thought that he was joking.

"Yeah right. I would like to see you take them on then."

"I'm not lying…" Sasuke used his right hand to hold back his fringe in order to allow Naruto to see his face clearly. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, the pupils that were originally raven colored, became blood red. "See this? It's the Sharingan. Only the people in my family have this special trait. I'm quite sure that it is in no way inferior to the Hyuuga's Byaakugan." Then he let down his fringe and his eyes also changed back to their normal color.

Naruto was still not convinced. "I know about your eyes. They turn pink whenever something bad happens, but that's all. I don't think you can scare them away with your infected looking eyes."

"They turn _red_, not pink…and they're not infected, Usuratonkachii."

Tsunade could not take it anymore, if she had to hear any more nonsense from them, she would go crazy. "Stop!"

Both of them became silent and watched as the Hokage took the file from Sasuke.

"I'll explain the rest." She proceeded to take the photo from Naruto and held it up for the both of them to see. "This girl here is called Hyuuga Hinata. She is supposed to be the future heiress to the Hyuuga family after her father, Hyuuga Hiashi. However, there seem to be some complications and now, if my assumptions are correct, her very own father wants to turn her into a killing machine by altering her DNA."

"Whatever for?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Good question. He may be trying to stage a revolt against us. I don't really know. Thing is, this poor girl is being tortured somewhere out there. It was a special request from someone that we bring her back from the hell she's in."

"What is her father using to alter her DNA?" The usually silent assassin felt the need to know what they are dealing with.

"Nanotechnology."

"Shit? That's the little tiny microchip bugs thingy right?"

"Shut up Naruto, and let her explain further."

Tsunade seemed to be thinking hard and a gazed look appeared in her eyes. "It's hard to explain what Nanotechnology is to you as I have not much knowledge on that particular subject. I suppose you would see when the time comes. However, the only thing that you might have to look out for would be _morphing._"

"Okay." Naruto nodded.

"Oh…there might be other people there who have extraordinary powers as well. Do exercise caution. The Hyuuga family has recently taken a liking to experimenting on people…" She threw a glance at Sasuke. "Number XIII, your eyes would be of some interest to them, so be careful."

"We'll get to it then."

"Wait, one more thing." Tsunade clapped her hands and the door opened.

A boy that looked older than them by a year stepped in the messy office. His clothes were dirtied and he gave them the impression that he had been through hell. The clothing he had on was not extremely impressive either. It had the design similar to the male Yukata. There was a symbol inscripted on his forehead, as if it was sealing some kind of power he had. He had long hair, which was tied neatly at the end. The one thing that struck both Naruto and Sasuke was that he had the same eyes as Hyuuga Hinata. White, as if there was no pupil.

He bowed politely. "This is Hyuuga Neji." The blond lady gestured towards the boy. "He was the one who requested for us to save his cousin. Of course, he would be following you on this mission as help in battle and a guide of the place you're going to."

"A Hyuuga…?" Sasuke frowned. _What's he doing here?_

"You have…the same eyes…" Naruto stuttered.

Neji looked up and spoke coldly, "I don't like to request favors from anybody, usually. Still, this time I had no choice. I expected more people though…"

"Trust me, these two are the most hardcore assassins you can find here." The Hokage waved her hand to dismiss his doubts.

"I suppose so."

"You better explain everything in detail as we go. I want to know what we're dealing with and how the hell the situation got this way." Sasuke snapped at him.

Neji nodded. "If it would help us in the mission, I would do so."

The Hokage smiled and quickly added, "You better get going. I'm sure your enemies are already preparing."

The three of them excused themselves and walked out of the door.

"Hyuuga…Neji." Tsunade mused after they had left. "What a weird character. I could have sworn that he seemed quite similar to Number XIII…no, _Uchiha Sasuke_."

She sighed and stared at the paperwork on her desk. "This sucks. I would have joined them if I weren't stuck with paperwork. It would be interesting to watch how they co-operate with each other."

_With personalities that are so different between the three of them..._

_It would be very interesting indeed.

* * *

_

(Outside the castle)

A brown haired girl appeared in front of two guys. Smiling, she informed them, "Hey guys. The 'princes on white horses' are coming. Get ready to slam our charming guests right into hell."

The guy on the right showed a smile that revealed his sharp canine teeth. A white colored dog barked enthusiastically. "That's right…Akamaru…We're going to have some nice exercise soon."

"Don't get too excited." The other person on the left reminded him.

"It'll be fine." He waved a hand irritably. "I'll make sure I don't overdo it."

"Good." As the person on the left said so, a large swarm of insects surrounded him dangerously. They crept all over his sleeves and long pants, until they finally disappeared _into_ his body.

"We mustn't let Hinata down. Let's go."

Saying so, the two boys disappeared in a shroud of smoke. The brown haired girl smirked, "Men…such fools." She placed a finger on her cheek and gave a deadly look. "Hmmm…I'll have to teach that bastard, Neji, a lesson as well. How dare he betray us and even asked for help to get _rid_ of us." Slowly, she unsheathed a spear from her back.

"After all, isn't that what girlfriends do? We must keep the unfaithful men in check." She gave a sinister laugh and disappeared as quickly as when she came.

* * *

Sakura: Chapter two up! Okay…so not much love is injected yet. Well, they have to meet Hinata first right…? (Before any sparks can fly.) Anyway, next chapter would probably on how they are fighting and Neji would explain everything to them.

Oh, if you're clueless, the italics in the beginning were about some book that Sasuke was reading. It is **NOT** a flashback and definitely there's no character called Furin in my story as far as I've decided.

**Please read and review!** Note that this is very important…I only got three reviews so far, but they rock! Many thanks to Araine, L0tus and frogger666!

Your reviews keep me writing. So kept them COMING!


	3. Right versus Wrong?

Parings: NaruxHinaxSasu, One-sided NejixHina, TemarixShikaxIno and others.

Warning: Possible deep angst at certain times. Slight swearing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Also, I do not own the whole 'position number in the organization thing', I just thought it would be cool to make Sasuke have the same number as Train (from Black Cat). To put it simply, anything that seems similar to the anime Black Cat, or Naruto is copyrighted and **not** mine.

* * *

Chapter Three: Right versus Wrong?

A girl sat quietly on the bed. Her downcast eyes looked outside the window. Like a stone statue, she sits with no emotion.

"Hmm…I see that you're awake, Hinata." A voice sounded from behind her, at the door.

Slowly, the girl turned around and gazed at the intruder with her white, pearl-like eyes. "Yes, I am."

Smiling, the person sat down beside her on the bed. "You know…he's coming."

"Who is coming…?" The girl asked, puzzled in a way. She could not remember much since the doctor- no, her master, operated on her. Maybe just simple fragments of memories, but nothing else.

The yellow haired girl gave an understanding look and smiled softly once more. "The caged bird that you had set free." Both of them looked out of the window, towards the forests and beautiful green plains, which lay beyond their reach. Hinata still did not understand. _A caged bird?_

"I…don't understand. I used to have a pet…?"

Her friend chuckled. "Not a pet…but something more of a guardian. Someone who would protect you when you're in danger."

"But you said that it was a caged bird…"

"Yes." She turned towards Hinata and nodded. "A caged bird who was trapped in his own darkness. Hinata, _you_ were the one who saved him. So now, I'm sure that he's coming to save you."

"Save…me?" Hinata felt that her friend was acting strangely. Why would she need saving? She was not in any danger. Her friend laughed once more.

"I suppose that you can't recall anything now?"

Hinata kept silent for a while, before nodding. "Yes…I can't remember anything much that happened before I knew my master."

The other girl looked down thoughtfully. "Hm…it's okay. I'm sure that you would remember everything soon."

Hinata gave her a small smile, "Thank you."

"I shall take my leave then. It won't be pretty if they catch me talking to you here." Saying so, she stood up and proceeded to the door. Before she left, she turned around and gave Hinata a melancholy look. "Hinata…"

"Yes, Ino?"

She paused. "…Just remember…don't hurt them."

"Huh?"

"Don't…hurt the ones who would protect you. Don't hurt the caged bird that you have set free." She sighed. She had a mission to accomplish, but it was not something she would do if it had not been that Shikamaru… "If need be, I'll be the one who would dispose of them for you. Still, I don't want to see your hands covered with the blood of those who meant everything to you."

"Ino…you're not making sense today."

Ino shook her head and pushed open the door. "Never mind me then. I'm just being overly sensitive." With that, she stepped out of the large, wooden doors and down the hallway.

Hinata continued to sit motionless on the bed. Words that people had taught her came flooding to her mind.

_Listen, my sweet. You're nothing but a demon. You have no emotions. You don't need friends. You don't need anybody except us._

She had begun to doubt him.

_Don't...hurt the ones who would protect you. Don't hurt the caged bird that you have set free._

"But who? Who is that person I'm not supposed to hurt?" She muttered in frustration. Her head hurts and she really cannot remember anything.

_Hinata-sama..._ A soft voice rang in her head. Someone familiar…someone she was not supposed to forget. Hinata blinked twice, trying to gather her thoughts and remember who had called her in that way before.

_Hinata-sama..._ The voice caressed her soul with its purity. The only one who cared for her…

_Hinata-sama...Is this what you really want?_

"Stop…I don't know what you're trying to say! Stop..." She buried her face into her hands. A warm liquid flowed onto her pale skin and she found herself to be sobbing. It was ridiculous and unnecessary, since demons do not cry. They only kill. Yet, in her heart, the memories were hurting her. Stuck between being a demon and figuring out who she was, she was in extreme pain.

She looked up and saw a vision of that person. Someone with long hair and white eyes like hers... He gave her a warm smile and placed his hands on her cheek. Her tears forbid her eyes to see his face clearly, but she knew that she had seen him before. Hinata placed her hands against her chest.

_Silly girl. Please stop crying._

Her memories engulfed her. "You…" More tears spilled to the ground.

_Come on...it's okay. I'm here, aren't I?_

"You…I know…"

_Hinata-sama...Please don't cry._

The vision of that person hugged her and held her close. Though she could not feel the person's touch, she felt the warmth of the memory. Slowly, Hinata closed her eyes, with tears still flowing from them.

"I know you…"

* * *

(In the forest outside the castle)

The trio was traveling quickly towards the castle, when Neji suddenly stopped. Naruto turned and stared at him. "What is it?"

"Huh?" Neji snapped out of his daze and gave an apologetic look. "It's just…I thought I had heard someone calling out to me."

"Hn." Sasuke leaned against the tree. "I think you need rest."

Neji was about to protest when Naruto cut in. "Yeah. We've been traveling for quite some time already. Let's take some time to rest and for you to explain matters to us." The assassin with the black coat tossed some bread to both of them. Smiling happily, the blond haired boy sat down and started to nibble on the loaf.

"Say…Neji. So what really happened?" Naruto spoke and bread crumbs splattered all over the place. Sasuke frowned and back away a little. "You're disgusting. Eat properly." Naruto ignored him and gave Neji a look that showed his curiosity.

Neji looked at his bread, apparently not even wanting to touch it. A heavy sigh was heard and he started to explain more of the story to them. "Hiashi-sama, who is Hinata's father, wanted to allow the Hyuuga family to regain its former glory. A long time ago, there was a war between the Hyuuga Clan and the Uchiha clan. Have you heard of it…? Uchiha-kun."

"No." Sasuke nonchalantly continued to eat his bread. It was none of his business anyway. As far as he was concerned, every single person in his clan was dead.

"Well…there was such a thing. It was in that war that Hiashi-sama lost his wife, who was the mother of Hinata and Hanabi. Ever since then, he has never been the same. He treats everybody coldly and doesn't speak much to both of his daughters. However, we all knew what he wanted: Revenge. He wanted to kill every single one of the Uchihas and then destroy all those who oppose him to rule the world."

"Ouch. That old man definitely has issues." Naruto raised an eyebrow.

Neji gave a sad chuckle. "Seems like a stupid reason to make your daughter an experiment and hurt everyone around you right? But you see, when he was in his darkest hour, nobody saved him. The only person who really mattered was probably his wife, who died while trying to save his daughters. Maybe that's why he hated them. He hated his own daughters whose lives were saved by the one he loved."

"And…how do you fit into this picture? Why do you want to save Hinata?" Sasuke mentioned casually; his senses as sharp as always.

"I am Hinata-sama's personal guardian. I'm assigned to protect her, till the day I breathe my last." Neji pointed to the symbol on his head. "This is the proof that I would die if I leave her. Hiashi-sama had set a curse upon me, this symbol is used to control and torment me if I ever made mistakes or failed to protect Hinata-sama. Also, when I die, my powers would be sealed so that nobody would be able to find anything from my corpse."

"I thought you said that Hiashi hated Hinata? Why would he need anybody to protect her?" The kitsune had finished eating his bread and was watching Neji carefully.

"He needed her, because her genes were the ones most similar to his and she was to be experimented on. Hiashi needed a killing machine, and Hanabi was too strong in terms of her will to be used as a puppet. So, he turned to the kind hearted Hinata, whose skills are although comparatively weaker, but easier to manipulate. After all, once the Nanotechnology succeeded, she would be extremely strong as well."

"Dude. Your family is so screwed up." Naruto tilted his head and gazed at the white clouds that were floating in the sky.

Neji laughed, without much burden this time. "I suppose it is."

"Why did you get into trouble with them in the first place? And how did you escape from the Hyuuga clan?" The legendary assassin was curious. For someone to escape from the clutches of Hyuuga Hiashi and the clan, it would definitely not be a mere fluke.

"Ah…Well, I am Hinata-sama's guardian remember? Of course, I would not want to see her suffer. I talked to Hiashi-sama about it, but he simply turned me down. So I gathered my courage and did what I think was right."

"You tried to save her yourself?" Naruto, for once, managed to guess something correctly.

"Yes. However, I failed. So I had no choice but to come and seek help from the elite assassins in Konoha."

Sasuke eyed the Hyuuga and cocked his head to one side. "I've been thinking. You're also a Hyuuga right? And to be the bodyguard of someone of such a high status in the family…you must be strong."

"Maybe. Why do you ask?"

"I want to see." A murderous look crossed Sasuke's eyes once again. It was as if his eyes reflected both insanity and logical thinking at the same time. Naruto stared at his partner; he_ was_ a complex person. "I need to see your power." His hands shifted threateningly towards the twin guns in his brown belt.

"I would prefer to save my energy for the enemy later on. I think that we would meet with quite an amount of resistance." He kept the bread in the bag they were bringing along and hid it behind a tree. Something was coming and at full speed as well.

Sasuke grabbed his twin guns and aimed it at Neji. "Show me your power."

The blond haired boy started to panic. "Teme! This isn't the time to do this!" He was about to knock the guns out of his partner's hands when Sasuke fired a shot. The sound of the gunshot rang through the forest, and birds scattered from their nests.

A figure grinned. "Very impressive, Uchiha."

To Naruto's surprise, the figure was holding a bullet right in the middle of his palm. He closed his fingers on the gold colored bullet and crushed it into dust. Smirking, Sasuke replied, "Not really. You were too noisy." He never let down his guard even once. It was the enemy's mistake to come barging into his space.

"Wha…What's going on?" Naruto stuttered as he stared the three people in front of him. His mind started to rearrange information of the events that happened a few seconds ago. _Sasuke was about to shoot Neji...then what happened?_ The kitsune's gaze traveled to Neji, who was standing there safe and sound. He was giving the same arrogant smile as Sasuke.

_Oh._ Naruto's eyes widened when he realized what happened. Sasuke had pretended to want to test Neji's power and aim the gun at him. The truth is that both of them already knew that the enemy was closing in. When the figure appeared behind Neji in an attempt to strike him, Sasuke had shot the enemy in the chest. Yet, the person had managed to catch the bullet and grind it to dust.

A clapping sound was heard. "Very impressive indeed. So I suppose that you guys are the assassins whom Neji had invited?" Another person appeared, beside the first person. He was wearing sunglasses and it was hard to tell what his expression was.

Neji immediately jumped back and landed beside Sasuke. The three of them went into a fighting stance and glared at the opponent. The raven-haired boy did not stop aiming at the opponent with his twin guns.

"Ah. I forgot. How rude we are…" The second person bowed. "Let us introduce ourselves before we start. My name is Aburame Shino."

The person who managed to stop Sasuke's shot continued, "Inuzuka Kiba." Gesturing to his pet dog, he explained, "And this is Akamaru."

Both of their eyes narrowed. A growling sound was heard from Kiba's dog, Akamaru. "We won't allow you to take away Hinata." Kiba took some strange pills and immediately his body started to transform. Fangs grew from where his teeth once were and part of his body was covered with fur. Shino, on the other hand, had a _huge_ swarm of bugs buzzing around him as if they were acting as a shield.

"Hn." Sasuke stood calmly, while Naruto backed down by half a step. "Hell. I thought that only _I_ could transform. What's up with that?!" Neji's hands started to glow green as well. "Well…the world _is _a small place and some people often have weird abilities. Though I do not often see such a barbaric way of fighting."

"H…Hey!" Naruto protested when he realized that it included him as well.

"Barbaric…?" The werewolf in front of them growled. "I'll show you what's barbaric! Prepare to die!" He gave a loud roar and threw himself forward to pounce on them. Shino went to his left in order to surround them from the back.

"Wow. I'm scared. A talking mutt is threatening _me_." Sasuke commented sarcastically before leaping backwards to avoid Kiba's attack and shoot more bullets at him. Kiba easily dodged them with his increased speed. "You talk big, Uchiha…but is this all you can do?" His body started to spin and formed into something like a drill. Sasuke's eyes widened as Kiba approached him faster than ever. He barely had the time to step aside before Kiba went past him and slammed through a boulder behind him. _Damn this speed..._ Sasuke's eyes turned blood red and a fierce look appeared on his face.

"Don't test my patience." Now that he had his advanced bloodline on, he could see through Kiba's attack easily, as if he was moving in slow motion. Raising his twin guns, he repeatedly fired shots at Kiba's weak spots to slow his tunneling down.

"ARGH!!!!" Naruto yelled as he swiped a claw at Shino. The bugs protected him, however, and the poor kitsune was knocked back onto the ground. Neji took over for a second and imitated a swipe at Shino. A green force ripped through the ground and headed towards the enemy. "What…?" Shino was slightly caught off guard, and the force sliced him into half.

"Shit. He's dead?" Naruto stood up cautiously.

"No. It's not over." Neji prepared another strike and focused on the cloud of smoke and dust in front of him.

"So what they say about the Hyuuga prodigy was true…" Shino was standing in the middle, apparently unhurt. "The element of wind…" _He must have used a decoy. _Naruto's fists also started to glow with fire. "Ah. I see that there's fire as well." Shino gave a small smirk. He held his hands up and the bugs gathered around them.

"Eat this!" Naruto roared and charged forward with his flaming fists. Shino blocked his attack with his bugs. Frustrated, Naruto pulled back his head and yelled, "Hellfire!" A large area of fire burned from the ground and surrounded Shino. A crackling sound was heard as the bugs were fried in the inferno. Shino gasped, "My bugs!" Then the fire proceeded to tug at his clothes, in order to escape, Shino ran through the blaze. The foxfire burned his skin slightly, but at least he escaped death.

Gasping for air, he breathed heavily, "Shit…I was…too careless…"

"Shino, you idiot! Watch out!" A scream came from behind as Kiba leap down the tree to push Shino out of harm's way. When the injured boy looked up, he found his friend glaring at a certain assassin who was standing not too far away. Sasuke clicked open his gun and slipped in new bullets professionally. "Two more bullets for the both of you. I've wasted enough." He frowned and aimed at them. Where have he seen this scene before? Ah…yes, it was during the massacre of his clan, when his brother was about to finish him.

Giving the same cold look as Itachi, Sasuke murmured, "You're too weak."

Kiba's strength was nearly exhausted and he was transforming back to his human-like form. Naruto caught up with Sasuke and looked at the both of them in surprise. "Sasuke…how did you…?" The Hyuuga prodigy stood at the distance, wanting to observe what Sasuke would do next.

_That was a quick battle._ Neji mused to himself. _I don't think it's because Kiba and Shino were too weak...Maybe it was because Naruto and Sasuke are already completely out of their league. Especially Uchiha Sasuke...he took down Kiba faster than we could take down Shino together._

_What a dangerous person._

The guns in Sasuke's hands clicked as they prepared to fire bullets straight into the heads of the ones who have lost. Naruto hesitated; something in him felt that he should stop Sasuke. _But...they are the enemy. We can't possibly allow them to live._ He bit his lower lip in frustration. To kill…or not to kill?

"Naruto." Sasuke called out, snapping him out of his daze. "Should we kill them?"

"Huh…?"

"Based on your instincts, should we kill them?"

"I…"

"I'll give you five seconds…then I'll shoot."

"What?! Teme, you're obnoxious! Don't shoot damnit!"

Sasuke smiled. He did a spinning action with his guns and slipped them back into the brown belt around his waist. His eyes turned back to their original raven color. "You're such a softie." Looking at Kiba and Shino, the raven-haired boy threatened, "I'll let you live this time. However, if you hinder our plans next time, I won't hesitate to put a bullet in your head…or up your ass, for that matter."

Kiba gritted his teeth, "As long as you are after Hinata, we won't stop hunting for you."

"Dude. We're going to _save_ her. Which part of the word 'save' do you not understand?" Naruto groaned exasperatedly.

Both Shino and Kiba sat down there, apparently stunned. "Save her…? We thought that you guys are going to assassinate her!"

"What a wonderful lie. Who told you that?" Neji bent down and stared at them.

"Ah…that girl…" Shino started coughing a little and Kiba had a look of apprehension on his face. "Tenten." Neji's eyes widened upon the mentioning of _her_ name. "She told us that you had rebelled against the Hyuuga clan because he wanted to be leader but was refused by Hiashi. Then, she said that you're on your way here with a couple of assassins whom you've hired to kill Hinata to get her position as heir…"

Neji had heard enough. "Remind me to kill her when I'm done." He did not know whether he meant it literally or physically. All he knew was that he was pissed.

"Whatever. If your crazed girlfriend comes knocking on our door, I won't hesitate to blow her brains out."

"I don't mind."

Both Sasuke and Neji started heading to the castle. It was a long journey and they have to hurry. Naruto threw a last glance at them and nodded, "You guys stay here. When we're done we'll get someone to come tend to your injuries."

"You're…Uzumaki Naruto, right?" Kiba finally asked; much of his hostility had disappeared.

"Yeah." The kitsune grinned. "And proud of it."

With that, he ran in the direction that Neji and Sasuke went. Kiba propped Shino against a nearby tree and leaned on it beside him. Shino gave a short chuckle, "You seem interested in him."

"He…spared our lives…" Kiba spoke in disbelief. Akamaru sat beside him and barked something that probably meant 'yes'.

"Uzumaki…Naruto…" Shino inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.

"I'll try to remember that."

* * *

Sakura: Okay. Chapter three is done. Sorry about the crappy fight scenes. I can't think properly…anyways, yeah. This chapter is rather lousy, but I'll try to make a better fight scene for Tenten next round. If you guys have any comments on whom you want (Neji, Sasuke or Naruto) to fight her, please drop a nice little review to tell me so.

**Please read and review!** I need more reviews. I feel like a writer who writes and forsakes sleep but does not get paid. (Well, not that I am…but still!)

Many thanks once again to frogger666, Araine, Avatarofrage for giving me new reviews! I have realized that they have been giving me extremely wonderful reviews.


	4. The Failed Experiments

Parings: NaruxHinaxSasu, One-sided NejixHina, TemarixShikaxIno and others.

Warning: Possible deep angst at certain times. Slight swearing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Also, I do not own the whole 'position number in the organization thing', I just thought it would be cool to make Sasuke have the same number as Train (from Black Cat). To put it simply, anything that seems similar to the anime Black Cat, or Naruto is copyrighted and **not** mine.

* * *

Chapter Four: The Failed Experiments

**-Flashback-**

A blond haired girl stared at the back of her childhood friend.

_Shikamaru-kun...would you have liked me better if I was stronger?_

He never says anything. He was always deep in thought. Ever since the teacher whom they had respected so much died during a mission, Shikamaru closed his heart to anybody. Still, she hoped that one day he would turn around and look at her. A scent of flowers filled the air and the wind blew their petals across the lands.

The girl smiled. She had always liked flowers.

Shikamaru turned around. His hair was tied in a high spiked ponytail as usual. "Ino, I have to go and look for someone."

Her heart leapt. "Wh…Who…?"

"I've heard…that there's a famous family in this part of the region with the name of Hyuuga. They seem to be researching on necromancy and many other areas as well. I thought…if I could seek their help, maybe…just maybe…" He gave a short pause. Ino already knew what he was going to say. When Asuma died, it was extremely painful for everyone. Somehow, Shikamaru never gave up the idea of resurrecting him. The only question was: Was everybody going to be happier if it did happen?

"Maybe I could bring back Asuma-sensei." It was getting hard to look at her in the eyes and he quickly avoided her gaze.

A sad look came over her eyes. "Are you going to leave us?"

"Yes." A shuffling sound was heard. He was quite afraid that she would cry; that was why he did not tell her about this sooner. "At least, for the time being."

"I…see."

A long silence followed between them. Neither Ino nor Shikamaru knew what to say to each other. 'Take care'? 'Goodbye'? Those words felt meaningless if the person saying them did not mean it. She was not even sure whether he would return.

"Um…so…" he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

There was a certain hesitation, but Ino nodded. "I understand." A pained smile only managed to light up her face slightly. "We all hope for the same thing as well." _I think._ She wondered if she was lying. Actually, if she could, she would have screamed for him to stay. However, she had already known him for so many years. Although he hated troublesome things, he was quite stubborn about doing it once he had decided to do so. The blond haired girl already knew that nothing she said would make him change his mind.

"Once I come back…with Asuma-sensei, that is…"

She looked at him curiously. The petals of the flowers were being lifted by the wind once more and they almost seemed to be dancing in the air. _Damn. Please...I need the courage to do this now._ Shikamaru's eyes managed to capture hers once more.

"What will you do?" She spoke, trying to help him with his words.

"Uh…" A feeling of panic rose inside of him. "Nothing. I'll tell you when I get back."

"Oh." She felt disappointed, but nevertheless kept quiet about it once more. "Okay, please do take care then. I'll be waiting for you." A genuine smile appeared on her face. "You'll…be waiting…?" His mind worked quickly, like a computerized system, and he blushed. Ino was puzzled at his reaction at first, but she quickly figured out what he was bothered about.

"Ah! I mean…us…you know…Choji, me and the villagers…" She quickly explained while stumbling over her words. Her face turned redder than a tomato and she looked down shyly while playing with her fingers.

Shikamaru chuckled. Ino rarely got shy, but when she did, she would become surprisingly cute. He caught hold of a part of her long hair and seemed to be thinking for a long time before he finally let go.

"Your hair…it's long now."

"Yeah…" She touched her long silky hair and smiled, "I always thought it would make me look more femine."

"It does. You've changed a lot since the last time." He paused slightly. "It still doesn't hide the fact that you're violent though…"

"H…hey!" She frowned.

Then they laughed. It felt so easy then. Just to stay there, in those fields of flowers they have been to so many times, and enjoy themselves. They never knew what was lying ahead of them.

**-Flashback Ends-

* * *

**

(At the castle steps)

Naruto practically hopped up the steps, while Sasuke was placing his hands in his pockets and strolling along. Neji observed the surroundings for any movement. Though as cliché as it may seem, the trio were actually on high alert. The forest started to fade as they came across an opening and emerged into the sunlight. The castle of the Hyuugas stood motionless in front of them. Strangely, there were no signs of guards.

The boy with the long hair frowned. "Have they given up? So far, we have encountered little resistance."

"Would you rather we have a whole army after our skins?" Number XIII continued advancing towards the castle. Though nobody really knew about it, but sometimes he rather not kill people if he did not have to.

"No…but this isn't Hiashi-sama's way of doing things. I'm just being wary."

All of the sudden, a spear appeared out of nowhere and slammed itself into the ground where Sasuke was about to step on. The assassin froze for a second. An amused laughter vibrated throughout the air. A girl, who was wearing a Chinese shirt, appeared from above and grabbed the spear from the floor. Sasuke leapt back in caution. She stood on the steps before them and sneered.

"Why…if it isn't Neji."

Neji frowned and activated his Byaakugan. "Tenten. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

She pointed the spear at them and spoke in a low whisper. "Getting rid of intruders." The weapon master maneuvered the spear professionally at a high speed, making seem as though many spears are raining down on the trio at the same time. Naruto took cover on the left and Sasuke jumped up into the air. Neji, on the other hand, did not choose to dodge her attack, but to receive it directly. "Kaiten!" Within seconds, he was parrying her spear attacks with a barrier he made from spinning quickly and focusing his chakra. When they were done, the whole portion of the steps was destroyed except for the part where Neji was standing on. Naruto gaped at the damage caused by Tenten's attack. How could a girl become so strong? _She's definitely stronger than Kiba and Shino...and her attacks are performed with no hesitance, unlike the both of them._

"Damn you! Watch where you're aiming that!" Naruto shook his fists angrily in a similar way as an old man when some children accidentally kicked a ball into his face. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. _Another opponent..._

"Stop, Tenten!" Neji yelled, but it was too late, Tenten was extremely determined to kill them and she charged forward towards Neji. She thrust her spear forth and the Hyuuga prodigy only managed to catch it seconds before it made a hole in his face. The two stood there for a minute; both of their hands were shaking from the amount of force they were putting to pulling or pushing the spear. "Tenten… Kiba and Shino said that you told them that we were going to assassinate Hinata. Is that the truth?"

The brown haired girl smirked. "What if it is?"

Angry, Neji used a burst of chakra from his hands to knock the spear away and aimed for Tenten with his palm. The girl jumped away in time and landed not too far away from him. "Why?!" He yelled. She had totally betrayed his trust. The same look as Neji appeared on her face, only that it was filled with disgust as well. "You dare to ask me why?" The three of them watched her face contort with anger, before she screamed, "YOU dare to ask me why?"

"I…" Neji was stunned. Why was she so mad with him?

Tenten swung her spear and pointed it at him. "You were the one who left us! You ungrateful bastard!" Her eyes filled with hatred and she gave him a look that showed how she despised him. "It was because you left us that we were used as experimental _toys_! Both Lee and I! Have you ever wondered what we have been through?!"

In the distance, a blond haired boy appeared on a large rock. Naruto frowned, while squatting down. "Damn. This woman seriously has issues." Sasuke appeared beside him and calmly spoke, "I don't do family matters. Neji should handle his by himself." The kitsune looked up at his partner, "Think he can handle it?" The raven-haired boy shrugged nonchalantly. "It doesn't make a difference. If he does die, which would be absolutely stupid of him to do so, I'm going to finish that girl off. You, on the other hand, can clean up his sorry remains then."

"Good plan."

Meanwhile, Neji gave a shocked look. "Experimental…toys…?" Tenten gritted her teeth angrily and she jumped off the platform she was standing on and swung her spear at Neji. The boy dodged her attacks expertly, while continuing to question her, "I don't understand…did Hiashi-sama do something to the both of you?"

"Shut up and die!" Tenten slammed her spear on the ground between them and an explosion filled the area. There were sounds of the trees breaking and the floor cracked.

"Holy shit. That's huge!!" Naruto put his right on his forehead and squinted into the distance. His partner simply continued to stand motionlessly.

When then smoke cleared, it revealed a slightly exhausted Tenten with a determined look on her face and a completely unharmed Neji. A green barrier was protecting him and he had grey wings sprouting from his back. A different aura surrounded him and he almost looked holy. "Don't underestimate me."

Naruto gasped, "Teme! Look, he's…an _angel_!" Sasuke sighed, "Didn't I tell you this already before we started? 'Those people belong to an ancient clan. Most of their descendants aren't normal human beings. They are said to descend from a mixed breed of humans and _angels_. Therefore, they possess a certain element each and if their genes are right, possibly even wings.' Remember…? If Neji was truly strong, I'm not surprised that girly-boy here has wings."

"Teme…Don't mock him, you have long hair too you know."

"I'm different." Sasuke gave an arrogant smirk. "At least my hair has spikes."

"…Why don't you just come straight to the point and just say what you wanted to say? That you are 'sexy'."

"Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment."

"What…?! Teme…! I didn't mean it that way!"

As Naruto and Sasuke went on their little debate, Neji's power made Tenten take a step back. Lightning coursed through her spear. "This doesn't change anything. I'll kill you for both Lee and my sake!" She raised her spear and sent forth lightning to strike Neji. With more power to use, he moved faster than before and managed to avoid every one of them except for the last one, which burnt his left wing slightly. Tenten jumped and aimed directly for his head.

"A traitor deserves to die!" She wanted to slam the spear onto his head, but the same green colored barrier blocked it. The lightning on her spear clashed with the barrier and attempted to break it but failed. The brown haired girl was thrown back and she landed with a back flip. "Shoot…" She was more than slightly exhausted now. The skills that she was using consumed too much power.

"Explain. What's happened?" Neji took a step forward; the feathers on his wings scattered all over the floor.

"Hyuuga Hiashi used us! He captured us when you went away to 'seek' help for _Hinata-sama_, your precious little princess. I was given the power to control the lightning element at will and Lee…" She looked down with regret for once. "They tried to increase his body power, just like what they did with Kiba but in a different way. However, the experiment failed because his body wasn't suitable for it. Now, he's in a coma and I overheard those 'doctors' saying that because of the stupidity of some people, Lee's lifespan has been cut into half!"

Tear spilled onto the floor and Tenten pointed her spear angrily at Neji, "And it's all your fault! If you hadn't left to protect that useless girl, Lee wouldn't be in this state!"

"Tenten…I…" Neji's eyes softened and reflected sadness. "I didn't know…"

"So now…" She gathered the last of her power and charged it into her spear. "You'll pay, with your life!" The brown haired girl yelled and ran towards Neji at full speed. The boy did not move. "I'm sorry, Tenten…" At that moment, the scattered feathers on the ground started to glow and each and every single one of them suddenly became as sharp as blades. They shot up from their positions on the ground and a scream was heard as they cut through Tenten's flesh and ripped parts of her clothing. In order to block the attack, she had let go of her spear and used her hands to cover her face and chest. After the feathers had attacked her, they disappeared in a soft flash in the air.

Exhausted and injured, Tenten fell to the floor._ So...I really am...useless..._ She hit the floor with a thud.

_Neji will be back. We must believe in him._

"It's…too late…" She murmured, with her face pressed onto the cold stone platform. "I'm sorry…Lee…" Her eyes closed as her vision started to blur and darkness overtook her. Lee's voice continued to ring in her head.

_Tenten...I know that you actually like Neji. Why don't you tell him?_

The vision of her good friend lying on the bed appeared in her mind.

_Don't...fight...him... He's...our friend... He's also...someone special...to you..._

The final tear fell silently onto the floor. "I'm really sorry." Then, Tenten was thrown into unconsciousness.

Neji walked over to her body and sighed. In a flash, his grey colored wings disappeared and he deactivated his Byaakugan. The kitsune and raven-haired boy appeared behind him. The Hyuuga prodigy picked Tenten up gently and carried her in a bridal style.

"Finally done?" Sasuke folded his arms impatiently.

"Yes. We're done here."

"Hey Neji, what do you want to do with her?" Naruto asked as he pointed to the body of Tenten. Neji took a glance at Tenten's unconscious form. "We'll have to bring her along. I don't feel that it's safe to just leave her here…"

"Hn." Sasuke turned around and headed for the castle doors. Naruto simply shrugged and nodded, "Okay. Do whatever you want then. Just keep her out of our way if she wakes up." Neji nodded back and then followed Sasuke into the entrance hall of the castle.

* * *

(Somewhere inside the castle)

"Ino…" A red haired boy appeared behind her. Ino calmly turned around to face the person and inquired, "Yes?"

"They're here."

"I know that." She picked up a white belt from the nearby chair. It was decorated with bottles that were filled with a strange purple liquid. She inspected every single of them properly before finally putting on the belt.

"Then you already know that Tenten has fallen?"

"Of course." Her eyes flashed coldly as she continued to put on her other gears.

"You don't seem surprised."

"It was expected. Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Tenten were simply pawns that were controlled by us because of their anger. When their hatred disappeared, there was no reason left for them to help us."

A murderous smile lit the boy's face. "And are you sure that you're not…?"

"What makes you think that I am similar to them? Unlike those people, I have a promise and duty to fulfill."

"Promise…? Duty…?"

Feeling irritated, Ino turned around and glared at the person who was currently leaning against the door. His whole body was covered in the shadows and it was hard to see his face, but she still knew who he was. "It's not like you to probe into other people's affairs. Besides, you should understand the most on why we do not ask about each other's past. Isn't that true, _Shukaku_?"

"Hn." A low growl was heard. "You're too cocky for your own good."

"Poor thing." She laughed and mocked him sarcastically. "Did I touch a nerve there?"

"Shut up." His voice was turning into something that sounded more like a monster than human. "You better win this for us. If you lose, I'll personally dispose of you."

Ino gave a slight chuckle, before her face started becoming serious. "I won't lose. Not when I have so much at stake."

"Hn." Feeling satisfied, the boy walked away from the room. "I was hoping you would lose, so that I would be able to play with them." All of the sudden, a huge amount of sand circled dangerously around him. _Blood..._ A faint voice seemed to be calling out from them.

"I'll make sure I leave the strongest one as your toy. Does that satisfy you?"

The red haired boy hushed the 'sand' and gave an evil smile. "Fine. Good luck to you then…_Lady Poison_."

"I don't need luck. I have skill." She muttered and then went out of the room as well. Ino closed the door to her room and locked it. She never liked it when people intruded on her privacy. Not especially when she had so many bottles of deadly experimental poison lying around.

* * *

"Teme." Naruto looked at his partner. His eyes seemed to be scanning the area carefully and Sasuke had also stopped in his tracks. Neji appeared behind, while still carrying the unconscious Tenten. "Do you need me to use the Byaakugan?" He whispered when he realized that they were not alone.

The kitsune growled slightly. "Someone…is here."

The stone hallways seemed to be mocking them with their silence. The shadows were fluttering between the darkness that was cast upon the walls. The raven-haired boy shifted uncomfortably and placed his hands on the twin guns that sat quietly on his brown belt. Slowly, Sasuke closed his eyes and tried to feel the presence of the person. He could feel a weak but definite aura of energy coming from the person and a quick-paced heartbeat. He opened his eyes once he had confirmed his target and professionally whipped out his guns and took aim.

"You reek of fear." The assassin's eyes turned blood red.

The figure who was hiding behind the wall came out and raised his hands up high. "W…Wait! Don't shoot!" He begged. Naruto observed the boy. He looked like he was the same age as them and he had a ponytail that was tied higher than usual. The boy also had black eyes unlike Naruto and Neji. The clothes he was wearing looked torn and tattered; just like when they first saw Neji.

"Give me a reason not to." Sasuke did not lower his guard and was ready to kill the person.

"I…I'm not one of the guards here. I'm just a prisoner who's looking for someone in this castle."

"You're a prisoner…?" Naruto raised his eyebrow. _That would explain why his clothes are more or less ripped apart..._

"Yes. My name is Shikamaru Nara. I was searching for a girl named Yamanaka Ino when they caught me and shoved me into the cell."

The Hyuuga prodigy switched his Byaakugan on and examined Shikamaru's chakra channels. "Sasuke, I think he's telling the truth. I don't see any signs of alteration in his chakra…" _Normally, those who serve in the Hyuuga family would be experimented on. So if Shikamaru's body does not show any signs of being altered, he's most probably not an enemy._

Number XIII stared at them for a second, before lowering his guns. He calmly put them back into the belt, but did not turn his Sharingan off. "Leave. You're in our way."

A look of fierce determination came across Shikamaru's face. "I can't. I think my friend's trapped here and I have to save her."

"Look, pal." Naruto spoke, while trying to bare his sharper looking fangs to Shikamaru to intimidate him. "What we're doing here isn't some kind of child's play. These guys can kill you in a split second. If you can be caught so easily, I don't think you should be here."

"Then, take me along with you."

"Hn." Sasuke gave an amused look. "Take _you_ along? I doubt you'll be of any use-" Before he could finish the sentence a heavy feeling washed over him and his whole body felt like it had just turned to stone. "Shit…" He grunted as he struggled to move his body. It was no use. The only movement that was seen was his fingers, which he managed to move slightly. Naruto, who was beside him, tried to move as well, but it was as if they caught by strings. "What the…" Neji was also shaking badly as he tried to fight the feeling but his body stood there, motionless.

"You must be quite good to at least be able to move your fingers." Shikamaru was seen grinning and standing calmly in front of them. Naruto tried to move once more but it failed. "Stop your futile attempts. You won't escape." Shikamaru took a step forward and to their surprise, their bodies followed suit.

"The…shadow…" Naruto realized when they moved. Shikamaru's shadow was joined abnormally to theirs. The boy laughed, "You realized? I'm not that weak you know…" He took out a kunai and threw it into the air playfully. As he did so, Neji dropped Tenten onto the floor and the three of them started to do the exact same movements as he did.

"Damn…I can't…move…" Sasuke gritted his teeth, as his body moved against his will to Shikamaru's command. "This sucks!" Naruto yelled as he watched himself doing something he did not want to do. "You don't have a choice." Shikamaru's eyes flashed dangerously. "My ability is to control shadows at will. I can make them trap your shadow and make you do my bidding. The sad thing is, my power only limits to you being able to do what I do, for now. No matter though, I'll be able to master full use of the shadows soon."

"You'd better not let me escape…or I'll shove a bullet up your freaking as-" Sasuke cursed at him, but was hit by the kunai which Shikamaru had thrown at him. "I guess you're only a pretty face. Once you start speaking, it's all vulgarities and nonsense. How uncouth." Number XIII flinched a little but was still unable to move. Blood started to trickle from his wound. "Teme! You okay?!" Naruto yelled worriedly. "I'm fine…" Sasuke grunted.

"If anything happens to anybody here, I swear you won't live to even regret it!"

"Whatever." Shikamaru walked forward again and stopped about a meter away from them. "I'm not here to pick a fight." He sighed, "I was simply angry that pretty-boy here did not show any respect for me."

"You sure don't seem like it." Neji glared at him with his Byaakugan.

"Trust me. I have someone to save anyway."

"Oh yeah. So does it mean that if we're saving someone, we can just go around and shove kunais up people's guts? I don't think so!" The kitsune's body started to glow a fiery red; he was starting to build up chakra.

"He was pissing me off." Shikamaru shrugged nonchalantly.

Before Naruto could retort once more, Sasuke spoke, "Enough. I'm okay." He looked at Shikamaru and deactivated his Sharingan. "If you want us to trust you, you'd better release this now. To be honest, I've found a way to get out of your trap. However, I need to see whether you would like to cooperate with us. If you don't, I'll escape anyway and blow your head off."

The boy seemed to be deep in thought for a second, "Hmm…Okay."

Immediately, the shadow that was connecting them disappeared and the trio found that they could move again. Naruto rushed over to Sasuke as he bent down. "Hey, Sasuke. You better put a bandage on that." The assassin grunted in pain. "What are you…my nanny?" He replied sarcastically. "I don't need morons like you worrying about me. I'm fine." Neji picked up Tenten's body from the ground and walked over to them. He took out a roll of bandages from the small pouch he was carrying and nodded, "Naruto's right. You would need to be in full form to fight them. So just put this on."

Somehow grateful, Sasuke took off his coat before wrapping the clean, white bandage around his body. "Thanks…" He muttered under his breath. Shikamaru approached them and apologized, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to join your group…or should I say, 'I need your help'."

The kitsune looked at his partner. "Sasuke…?"

Number XIII hesitated for a second, before nodding. "He can do whatever he likes."

The blond haired boy turned to face Shikamaru, "Okay, you can join us. However, if you try that stupid move on us again, it'll be 3 versus 1 and I can assure you that it won't be pretty." The other boy nodded and gave them his word.

"Now that things are settled, we'd better get a move on. Hinata-sama is still waiting for us." Naruto gave Neji a nod and helped Sasuke up. The three of them started to leave, when Shikamaru stopped them.

"Wait, there's another way. You're looking for the Nanotech girl right?"

"Don't call her that." Neji would not stand for anybody to insult Hinata. At least, not while he was there.

"I'm sorry…but yeah, there's a way to get to her. I think she's most probably in the laboratory or in one of the rooms on the upper level. So let's devise a plan."

"What do you think we should do?" Sasuke was willing to listen. After all, Shikamaru had proved to be quite different from what he seemed.

"In my opinion…" The brown haired boy pulled out a map of the place from his pocket. He placed it on the floor and the four of them practically huddled together to read it. Using his finger, Shikamaru circled two places in the castle. Pointing to the upper circle, he turned to Naruto and Sasuke, "We should split up. See these parts here? Sasuke and Naruto…both of you should head for the upper levels, while Neji and I would head for the basement where the laboratory is." The other three listened intently and nodded their agreement when they heard the plan. "This way, we would be able to find both Ino and Hinata in a short period of time. Also, we might be able to find something that can help heal this girl's injuries." He looked worriedly at Tenten, who was starting to seem frail.

"What happens we find Hinata and Ino?" Naruto cocked his head to one side in curiosity.

"You'll just have to blow on this." Shikamaru gave them a mini-flute that was conveniently made up from leaves. "It'll signal to the other group to make their escape."

"I think I like this plan." Neji smiled and the kitsune gave a playful look. "Yeah!"

"Hn." The Uchiha was agreeing with them inside his mind, but refrained from making any movements or expressions that told them so.

"Alright then. Let's go!" Shikamaru grinned.

With incredible speed, Naruto and Sasuke sprinted up the stairs to the next level. Neji, who was carrying Tenten, and Shikamaru, took the other way and headed down to the basement. The hall became quiet and still once again.

A figure suddenly appeared where the foursome was originally standing and sand whirled maliciously around him.

"Hmmm? They split up… That means I can have fun with those two who went down to the basement…" He licked his lips happily. "And Ino won't know…" His eyes changed from an emerald color to a total darkness that was filled with a pupil that looked like a star. _Blood...Blood...Kill..._ The sand chanted as it danced around him. "Hush…we'll get our prey soon." He broke out into a wide evil grin.

"And there would be lots of blood…definitely a lot of blood…" He muttered to himself as he shuffled off in the direction of the basement.

* * *

Sakura: Chapter four is up! Sorry about taking so long to update the story…I was having exams, you see. Anyway…I can assure you that the storyline is just going to get more and more exciting. (Pardon the lousy battle scenes though.) There would be something unexpected coming on soon! So make sure you keep reading!

A big, big **thank you **to all those who have reviewed! You guys keep me writing!

Also, those who have put this story on alert would not be disappointed. I'll do my best!

Lastly, **please read and review!** Oh, and I do hope that more people would read this story soon…


	5. A Dark Secret

Parings: NaruxHinaxSasu, One-sided NejixHina, TemarixShikaxIno and others.

Warning: Possible deep angst at certain times. Slight swearing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Also, I do not own the whole 'position number in the organization thing', I just thought it would be cool to make Sasuke have the same number as Train (from Black Cat). To put it simply, anything that seems similar to the anime Black Cat, or Naruto is copyrighted and **not** mine.

Sakura: Right…before we start… I need to clarify some things with the readers. Here goes: 1) Getbackers is a nice anime and I do enjoy it. (KAZUKI! AHHHHH!) However, this has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Ino was called 'Lady Poison'. It's just because Ino uses poison kunais in one of the Naruto games, so I got that idea of calling her so. 2) I get my inspiration from many animes. Ever watched or read Tsubasa Chronicle of the Wings? Yeah. It's somehow as random as that. So if anything seems similar to you, do forgive me. My subconscious self likes to tease me…

Now that we know everything better, let's enjoy the story.

* * *

Chapter Five: A Dark Secret 

"_What do you fight for?"_

A blond haired girl spun around the corner and continued to walk in a slow pace towards the lower levels, where she was sure she could find the intruders. Her eyes reflected nothing but emptiness and her long white dress flowed as she walked along the hallway. She reached the end of the hallway where there was a door.

Reaching out to push it open, she heard a soft voice. "Ino…where are you going?" Hinata appeared behind her, wearing the same white flowing dress that she had on. Ino turned around and smiled at her, "Do you want the truth or the lies?"

"I want…the truth."

"I'm going to kill that person and his friends."

"Who…? The person whom you called 'the caged bird'?"

"Yes." Ino looked down, her face looked melancholy and she seemed to be upset. She walked over to Hinata and placed her hand on her shoulders. "Please forgive me." The girl looked at her with her white pearl-like eyes and blinked. "Why would I need to do that…?"

"I am going to kill that person who is important to you…but I have no choice as well."

"Is there a way that allows you to stay and not fight them?"

Ino chuckled slightly, "Hinata, you're too kind and naïve. This sort of thing would never happen in this family of yours."

There was a moment of silence between the two girls. Ino gave her one last smile and proceeded towards the door again.

"Even…if it meant that you'd have to fight Shikamaru…?" Hinata whispered through her lips, while keeping her sorrowful eyes on Ino.

Surprised, the blond haired girl's eyes widened and she gazed at Hinata, "What are you talking about?" Hinata's facial expression did not change and she managed to state simply, "I can feel it… The person whom you want to protect is with them as well. If that's the case, do you still want to go?"

"Why would Shikamaru be with them? I thought that he was captured?" She was beginning to feel panicky. She knew that she would not be able to harm anybody when Shikamaru was near.

"He escaped, but did not leave the castle…"

"Why would he do such a stupid thing like that?" Ino asked once again in disbelief. Shikamaru never seemed like someone who would strike her as 'stupid'. In fact, he was an extremely intelligent person.

"He wanted to look for you."

Ino sighed and shook her head, "He shouldn't bother."

"I know that I don't have the right to talk to people about this as my memories and feelings have more or less been erased, but still…" Hinata placed her hands together and looked like she was deep in thought. She was starting to recall things, but they were in bits and pieces, therefore it was hard for her to determine anything that she had thought she learned. "I think Shikamaru loves you."

Upon hearing such a statement, her friend smiled, "He doesn't."

"Why not…? He is willing to brave the dangers in this castle just to look for you."

"I'm not the person he loves. I'm much _different_ now."

"Ino is Ino. Nobody can change the fact that we are who we are."

"Hyuuga Hiashi, your father, can do so." Ino's gaze followed her expression closely. As expected, Hinata was stunned, "My…father?"

"Yes, your father. He was the one who ordered for you to be experimented on. He was the one who experimented on Kiba, Shino, Tenten and Lee. He was the one who wanted you to be the killing puppet of the Hyuugas."

"I…" She stood in slight disbelief.

"He changed your destiny. He separated you from Neji."

Hinata stared at Ino with a horrified expression, "But…why…?"

"Revenge." Ino pushed open the doors in front of her. "He wanted to take revenge upon the world for taking away something that was precious to him."

"And…what was that? The thing that was taken away from him…"

"Your mother."

"Okaasan…?" She muttered softly.

"Yes, Hyuuga Himiko."

Now Hinata understood everything that has been going on. The reason to her father's strange behavior…the weird lights in the laboratory…the memories she had been trying to recall. "Ino…" She quickly spoke when it dawned on her. "You're…going to kill Neji-niisan?"

The blond haired girl nodded, "Yes. Have you remembered him?"

"P…Please don't do it!"

"I have to." Ino walked out of the door and locked it shut behind her. "I cannot have you interfering with my plans, Hinata…I'm sorry." Hinata banged on the door with her fists. "Ino! No! Please don't do it! You'll regret killing them!"

Ino gave a small smile while leaning her head against the door. "Hinata…I'll tell you why I need to do this. It's been my secret for so long." On the other side of the door, tears were flowing down Hinata's cheeks, "Please…don't kill Neji-niisan…"

Slowly, Ino whispered, "My whole life…everything…I owe it to Hiashi-sama…"

"Why?!" Hinata started to bang harder on the door and tried to unlock it. "My father did such…such cruel things! How can you owe him anything?"

A soft breeze blew in from the window. Hinata stopped crying as Ino told her the truth. She was too shocked to comprehend what she had heard. Ino's lips were moving while she explained things to her, but everything seemed to be like a silent movie. There was no sound until she had finished.

"So now do you understand? I owe him _everything_ I ever had in this life."

"You…your body…" Hinata whispered.

"I know." Ino sighed, "That's why I have to hurry. I don't have much time left. Thank you, Hinata…for being my friend all these years, but I have to go now." She walked away from the door, with her dress flowing softly from the breeze. The scent of flowers was in the air once again. Hinata slumped down on her knees. "No…No…you can't do this…" She felt helpless against the matters that her friend had just told her. Everything was in her father's calculations…so much so that many people were sacrificed.

"Even Ino…" Hinata cried. She could not stop her feelings from overwhelming her, "Her body…her soul…even those…"

"Otousan…Why are you such a liar…?"

There was nothing left for her to feel. Nothing left for her to cherish.

A man appeared in front of her in a laboratory coat. "My sweet. It's time for you to go." A malicious grin appeared on his face. She looked up with her tearful eyes, "Master…" The man cupped her cheek in his hands and shook his head disapprovingly. "This isn't the way for a demon to act. My sweet, you've been a very bad girl." The man clucked his tongue.

He took out a small chip and sneered, "I'm going to punish you." Saying so, he placed the chip on Hinata's chest and she screamed. The electricity pierced through her body like a thousand knives stabbing through her soul. She kept on screaming from the pain. The small chip reconfigured her memory and her thinking, making sure that she was set for killing. Due to the high pressure, the light bulbs on the ceiling exploded and the room became dim. When the chip had finished its job, her eyes seemed blank and she stood up slowly. Smoke was rising from her body due to the high heat.

"Now, my sweet. Throw away those useless fools from your mind. They are nothing but tools."

Her emotionless eyes shone in the dark. "Yes, Master."

"You're a demon. You don't need them. You only take orders."

Hinata did not move. It was if she was awaiting his signal.

"Get rid of them for me, my sweet."

With that, Hinata's hair became a sharp as blades and they cut through the door like it was paper. Still armed and dangerous, she took a few steps forward before disappearing in a flash. The man laughed insanely, "She's indeed a wonderful piece of work…" He adjusted his glasses and went off happily in the direction of the upper levels to report to Hiashi.

* * *

(In the basement) 

The moment Neji and Shikamaru stepped into the laboratory; they froze.

It was like they had just stepped into some other form of Hell on Earth. There were weird mutated animals floating about in cylinders that contained a greenish fluid. Some of the cylinders even contained humans who are as young as six year old, to the older ones who seemed to be around their late thirties. The advanced looking computers sat at the far end, where they glowed eerily in the dim lighting.

"Wh…What is this…?" Neji questioned the boy beside him breathlessly.

"I don't know…" The brown haired boy frowned. He had never ever seen anything like this before. It puzzled him and also made him rather _afraid_.

"I've heard of this laboratory…but I never dreamt that it was this big and all these…" He placed Tenten down on the floor where she leaned against the wall. Walking over to one of the cylinders containing a mutated eight-eyed goat that seemed to be able to walk on only two legs, he placed his fingers on the cold hard glass. "This is cruel…and insane." The Hyuuga prodigy turned his Byaakugan on and examined the mutated goat. _Impossible...!_ His eyes widened and he turned around to Shikamaru.

"This thing…it's still alive…!" There was no mistaking it. It still has its life force; chakra was swirling inside its body.

"No way…" Shikamaru went over to another glass and examined the human inside. "Technically speaking, you can't keep such experiments alive for long…"

"Yeah…I don't know what's going on…"

"Damn right we don't…" Shikamaru walked past the rows of cylinders and reached the far end of the room. His eyes scanned the computer screen. Slowly, he pushed a button and in one go, all the computers started up. The laboratory became much brighter immediately.

"Let's see…" His eyes reflected the data he was reading as he scanned through the files. Neji stood beside him, apparently surprised. Shikamaru's fingers worked the computer like it was magic. He managed to hack through most of the systems and read the files at an amazing speed. "Hn. You're good." Neji stated as he watched him. "This is nothing." Shikamaru replied and continued to memorize the data in front of him. "To be honest with you, I have an extremely high IQ. These things just require a little thinking."

"How high is your IQ…?" Neji probed, apparently curious about him.

"Around 180…or maybe even higher…I never really cared. It just happens that someone told me about it one day." He shrugged casually and continued typing away.

_Oh god._ Neji took a deep breath. "That's really high."

Shikamaru chuckled. "Really? However, the bad thing about me is that I'm rather lazy…"

The numbers and words on the screen paused momentarily when Shikamaru pressed on a blue button. "This is the data of the experiments done on Hyuuga Hinata." Neji stared at the huge screen and frowned. "Care to explain…?" The brown haired boy took a look at the data and nodded, "From what I can tell, this tells us of the list of experiments that were done on her…plus her reactions daily."

"Reactions?" Neji questioned while remaining focused on the screen.

"Hmm…Yeah. Read this part." Shikamaru touched a portion of the screen and it immediately zoomed in on a paragraph of words.

_Data Report 24:_

_The experiments on Hyuuga Hinata were brought further to another step today. We were all excited at the results that this might yield, but it is still too early to tell. To our surprise, she reacted strongly against the chips that were placed in her body and we had to remove them temporarily. Since we have never done this sort of experiment with a live human before, we did not know what to expect. However, we suspect that her memories are the ones that are forbidding her to combine with the technology. We shall do something about this tomorrow._

"Her body…rejected the nanochips…" Neji spoke breathlessly.

"Right. These people say that they suspect that it was something to do with her memories. If it is true, then she must have some really strong feelings towards something for this to happen."

"She never told me whether she liked anybody or anything."

Shikmaru sighed, "Which girl would tell her _male_ cousin about some cute guy she sees on the street or her crush on someone?"

"Hinata-sama would."

"God. She must be either extremely naïve or silly."

"It's…It's not that!" Neji glared at him. "Hinata-sama is just really honest and kind…that's all."

Shikamaru took a glance at him. "Wait. Don't tell me that you…"

"What?"

"Never mind." He continued to press the buttons and the screen moved up slightly. "Okay. Read this." He pointed to a portion on the screen and touched it lightly. Like before, a small portion of the text was zoomed in.

_Data Report 53:_

_Today is the finalization of the experiments on Hyuuga Hinata. She is finally starting to accept the experiments into her body. Though there was a point in time where she actually shed some silent tears. Once again, she managed to surprise us like before and one of us quit this project because of guilt. I am also beginning to have my doubts about doing such cruel things to her. The leader refused to stop the project though. He said that she was almost ready to be presented to Hyuuga Hiashi and she would be a 'wonderful piece of work'._

"Hinata-sama has been fighting against the experiments by herself all these time…" A guilty feeling washed over Neji and he looked down silently. He had failed in his duty to protect her from danger or harm. Now she is nothing but a weapon used by the Hyuuga family for the wrong reasons.

"It seems so."

Suddenly, Shikamaru paused. "Neji, take a look at this." He enlarged a portion of the screen that was supposedly deleted and recovered from the system. It had the same look as the passages previously but some of the words were missing though Shikamaru had tried his best to get them back.

_Data Report 60:_

_Today... created... program... control... similar to Hyuuga Hinata... named... 'Sacred flame'... able to... her memories... success..._

"What does this mean…?" He frowned. "I can't understand a thing with all those missing words."

"Let me see…my guess would be that it's trying to say that they've created another program that is similar to Hyuuga Hinata, and they named it 'Sacred flame'."

"What about the 'control', 'her memories' and 'success'?"

"Maybe it is referring to its function. The reason they created 'Sacred flame' is to control Hinata's memories and make sure that she would be able to obey their every command. Apparently, it was a success…"

"Damn." He gritted his teeth. "Isn't there anything we can do about it?"

"Well, from what I can derive from here, I think that Hinata is still unstable. That's why they had to create another program to control her. If we can get her away from this program, maybe she has a chance of regaining her memories."

"But what is the program like-" Before he could finish his sentence, it was as if an explosion occurred and the door was blasted open. Shocked, the two of them turned to face a boy of their age. He had flaming red hair and emerald eyes. The clothes he was wearing consisted of different shades of brown. To say that he had the same style as Naruto and Sasuke would not be entirely right, but would not be entirely wrong either.

"It's not nice to look through the belongings of someone else."

Neji got into a fighting stance and growled deeply. "Hn. Didn't anybody teach you how to knock the door?"

The sand that was swirling around the boy lashed out at Neji and he spun around to create a barrier of Chakra to defend himself from the onslaught of attacks. A green glow appeared on his fingertips once again. Once the attacks had momentarily stopped, he threw a green blade-like chakra towards the boy from his hands. To Neji's surprise, the red haired boy did not dodge it but accepted head on. The sand moved at a lightning quick speed and blocked the attack, rendering it useless.

His emerald green eyes flashed and the boy took a step forward. Within seconds, he found that he could not move. He tried moving his fingers but nothing seemed to be working. Calmly, he looked up and found Shikamaru looking at him dangerously.

"You're the first person who ever looked so calm even after being caught in my shadow technique."

"Shadow huh…" His eyes trailed to the floor and saw that their shadows were combined in a weird shape.

_No wonder..._ The boy continued to fix a deathly stare at them. "You're like insects…I'm going to kill you all." A crazed and maniacal look came across his eyes that looked cold up till then.

Shikamaru smirked. "Maybe we are. I have to tell you though, that I have a survival rate that is similar to a cockroach."

_Wait..._ Neji observed the boy as they talked. _Flaming red hair...the 'Sacred flame'...?_ Realizing that he might possibly be the 'program' that the scientists created, Neji quickly put a hand on Shikmaru's shoulder and stopped him. "He might be the 'Sacred flame'. They didn't say that the program was computerized, right? Only that it was similar to Hinata-sama."

"Similar…as in _human beings_?" Shikamaru was starting to catch up with his thinking.

"Exactly." Both of them cast a glance at the boy and felt that it was worth a try to question him. The boy was trying to break free from the technique and seemed to be focusing his efforts on moving.

"Hey you."

The red haired boy looked up at them.

"Are you the 'Sacred flame'? The one we read about in this report." Shikamaru signaled to the screen cocked his head to one side.

A malicious smile appeared on his lips. "Why would you like to know so much about that?"

"Because I'm supposed to be Hinata-sama's guardian and we're worried about the crap she has been through." Neji replied, slightly angry.

The boy shook his head. "Well. I'm not telling you."

"Why you-" Neji was prepared to charge and punch him, but Shikamaru held out a hand and stopped him. "Stay calm." He whispered cautiously.

Noticing that Shikamaru managed to calm Neji down and seemed to be analyzing a way to get through to him, the red haired boy spoke up, "You're Shikamaru Nara, right?"

"Yes." Shikamaru was surprised that he knew him.

"If you don't hurry…something precious belonging to you is going to disappear…" A wicked smile appeared on his face, one that contained an extreme amusement for deaths and for people to feel pain.

"Something precious…?"

"I'll give you a present then, for successfully managing to be the first person to trap me like this. You'll just have to release me to find out."

Neji's body tensed. "Don't do it."

The brown haired boy hesitated._ What if...he's talking about..._ There was a huge risk at stake either way and he was in a dilemma. Eventually, the shadow disappeared and he released the boy from his technique. Neji's eyes widened and he quickly made sure that they had a good amount of defense if should he attack them.

"Tell me."

The boy flexed his wrists, before replying, "You're looking for Yamanaka Ino right?"

"Yes."

His emerald green eyes glanced at the screen behind them and folded his arms. "Read the important documents at the section 4268. Look under 'Yamanaka Ino' and tell me what you see."

"Neji, you keep a watch on him while I hack into the system." Shikamaru commanded and he quickly started to figure out the system in order to hack in. Neji never let his guard down and kept his eyes on that boy.

"Why are you helping us?" The Hyuuga prodigy questioned the stranger.

"I don't help people. I just dislike Ino."

"You know her…?"

Knowing that Shikamaru was listening to them as well, the boy replied, "Yes. She's in the elite guards with me."

"Then why…?"

"She knows too much. She tries to understand things that she's not supposed to know. Yet Ino has a deep dark secret herself, that she thinks I don't know." A smirked appeared on his face. "I want to take everything away from her. Just for my amusement."

"You're sick." Neji stated, somewhat calmly.

"Found it." Shikamaru broke their conversation and scanned the information carefully. Neji waited to hear his reply. _What was Ino's secret...?_

A voice rang throughout the laboratory. **Gaara... Get your ass out of the laboratory and report to the upper levels right now.**

"Hn. You're lucky." He looked annoyed, yet was compelled to obey the person. As he left in a cloud of swirling sand, he gave one last look at Shikamaru and Neji. "Read it slowly. I'm sure you'll enjoy it." Then he disappeared.

"Hey…Shikamaru, what is he talking-" Neji questioned him curiously, but was stopped short by the look on Shikamaru's face. "Shikamaru…?"

"This…this can't…be…" Shikamaru spoke breathlessly and in shock. His face went pale and he looked like he was about to hyperventilate. "I…don't believe…" He bent down and clutched his head between his two hands, like a child who refused to hear something that he did not want to hear.

"What's going on…?" Neji went over and read the data himself. Shikamaru was trembling really badly and refused to say anything but mutterings of denial.

_Experiment 353: Yamanaka Ino_

_Today, Yamanaka Ino..._

Neji took some time to take everything in. When he figured it out, he stared at Shikamaru in horror. "She…this…" _No wonder Gaara said that it was a dark secret. This is crazy..._

"I have to…I have to find her…" Shikamaru muttered and he quickly ran up the stairs, leaving Neji and Tenten in the laboratory. "Wait!" Neji tried to stop him but failed. "Damn. This isn't the time to be so emotional…" He turned to a metal shelf nearby and found a cure for Tenten before lifting her onto his back and running off to catch up with Shikamaru.

"This is bad…" Neji frowned and rushed towards the stairs.

* * *

"Teme…This is the second or third last level I think…" Naruto looked around with his cerulean eyes. Sasuke stared at the map. "Yeah…" _That means that we're nearing Hinata...because Shikamaru and Neji hadn't blown on the leaf-whistle yet._

"This is as far as you go." A voice sounded from above them.

The two assassins looked up and found a blond haired girl looking at them. The strange purple liquid looked threatening at they sat in the small bottles on her white belt.

"Yamanaka…Ino?" Sasuke took a guess at who she was.

"Correct…and this is the place where you'll die." In a flash, she jumped down and took a bottle from her belt and opened it. Sasuke leapt up into a somersault in the air and whipped out his twin guns from his belt. Firing multiple shots at Ino, he landed quickly and signaled to Naruto to surround her from the other side. Ino blocked the bullets effectively with a weird looking sash that was floating around her. "Your bullets won't work on me." She held the bottle of poison between her two fingers and splashed it at Sasuke. Number XIII quickly jumped away once again. The purple liquid spread all over the ground and melted the concrete.

"Acid…?" A red glow surrounded Naruto and his fingernails and fangs became sharper. His eyes turned from a cerulean blue to a fierce bloody red; nine long slender tails also appeared behind him. Sasuke landed and looked up, displaying a set of equally dangerous bloody red eyes.

"So…you're the legendary Kyuubi." She turned and faced Naruto. The boy growled, "Why…? Why are you doing this? We were all looking for both Hinata and you! Especially Shikamaru…"

"I don't believe in anybody. I don't need you to look for me."

Sasuke pointed a gun at her, while letting his other hand fall limp to his side. "We're not here to fight. We're here to save you and Hyuuga Hinata."

"Save me…?" Ino gave an amused look. "I don't need any saving."

"Your friend, Shikamaru, is looking for you!" Naruto tensed and stared at her disbelievingly.

"He's not my friend. In fact, I do not have anything to do with him at all." She seemed irritated at the mere mention of Shikamaru and lifted another bottle. "Outsiders do not need to know that much."

"But he's risking his life to save you! Surely you-" Before Naruto could finish, Ino blew the fumes from the bottle towards him and the hot fumes went right into his respiratory system. Choked, Naruto bent down onto the floor while coughing. "Shit…ah…"

"Usuratonkachii! What the hell are you doing?!" Sasuke rushed forward and exchanged blows with Ino in order to keep her from reaching Naruto. "Stand up now!"

"It's no use." Ino replied coldly. "The fumes would have numbed him."

Naruto's body shook as he tried to stand up. It was futile as his body had already gone numb and he fell motionlessly onto the cold ground. Sasuke swung his gun forward to slam it into Ino's temple, but she blocked it with her sash once again. Noticing that his partner was down, Sasuke quickly ran over and picked him up while firing a shot at Ino.

"You're not getting away." She spread the acidic type poison all over the area that was near him. Sasuke went to the furthest corner of the room with Naruto and put him down. Once he was sure that his partner was safe from any harm, Sasuke concentrated his efforts on bringing Ino down. He gathered his power into a bullet and it glowed a golden color. The assassin fired the massive shot at Ino, making sure that it would hit a vital organ. To his surprise, she simply took out a bottle of poison once again and threw it into the air. The bottle broke and she fused her chakra with the purple liquid inside, causing it to form into a thin shield that reflected the light. The bullet's attack was nullified; it had hit the shield and though the shield shattered to pieces, the bullet could no longer move forward and fell to the ground.

"Surprised? This poison…" She held up a bottle with pride and smirked, "It is specially designed by me to suit my chakra. I am the only one who is able to control it. This type of poison is capable of morphing into anything I desire."

"Shoot…" Sasuke looked around at the floor and realized that there's limited movement since most of the ground had practically corroded. Also, the poison that Ino was carrying around was making it hard for him to get a good shot.

_Well, I guess that there's nothing left to do but to find out her weaknesses by testing a few shots._ The raven-haired boy leapt to the other side where she was standing and exchanged blows once again with her. He slasmmed his twin guns onto her continuously while she blocked the attacks with the sash. When hand-to-hand combat did not work, Sasuke jumped backwards and fired another gunshot at her. Once again, Ino blocked it with the purple shield, but strangely enough, the shield stopped the bullet but shattered into pieces as well.

_That's either a weak shield, or..._ Sasuke pretended to be aiming for her once again, which made her form her shield once more. However, instead of shooting her, he dashed forward and flicked his finger against the shield and it shattered as easily as before. Ino's eyes widened and she swung her sash around to knock him back before he could injure her. _That's it. That's her weakness for the shield._ He managed to break the impact given by the sash and slid to a stop, a meters away from her.

"You're as talented and sharp as they say, Number XIII." The blond haired girl immediately regained her composure and smiled. "I suppose that you've found out."

Sasuke nodded. "Your shield is able to withstand any kind of attack, no matter how strong or weak. However, it is only able to block only one attack at a time. So that means…" He raised his guns and his blood red eyes flashed. "Game's over."

Ino giggled before returning to a dangerous look. "There's no rush. I still have a lot of toys for us to play with. However…" She took out a bottle that seemed different from the rest. Instead of the usual purple colored liquid, it contained an orange one instead. "I'm going to kill you."

"Hn." The assassin smirked. "I should be the one who is saying that."

* * *

Meanwhile, Shikamaru was climbing flights of stairs while Neji followed closely behind. _I have to hurry...I have to make it in time..._ He gritted his teeth and rushed forward as fast as he could. 

"That report…" Neji muttered.

_Experiment 353: Yamanaka Ino_

_Today, Yamanaka Ino..._

"He shouldn't have seen that report…"

* * *

Sasuke fired a rebound shot and it hit Ino directly on the leg. She stumbled and fell over from the pain. She looked up and found him to be aiming at her head with his gun. His long coat was practically ripped apart with strange marks like that resembled the claws of an animal. 

"I have to say that you're good…but it's not enough."

Ino swiped her arm at him and the sash hit the raven-haired boy directly on the hand, a cracking sound was heard and Sasuke's gun dropped onto the floor. "Ha…" She spoke in short continuous breaths. "Now we're equally injured." Sasuke took a look at his broken arm, which fell limp at his side. Not even a wince of pain came across his face.

He raised his right hand. "I still have the other hand, you know…and I won't fall for the same trick again." His fingers tightened against the trigger. A murderous look came over his eyes.

"I came to deliver bad luck."

Just at that moment, Shikmaru burst into the room and yelled at the top of his lungs, "STOP!" Sasuke turned at looked at the boy. Neji came in soon afterwards, while still carrying Tenten on his back. "Sasuke, don't shoot her!" He stepped forward and signaled for Sasuke to back down.

He refused to budge. "This woman is beyond redemption. Are you still able to save her?"

"I don't know." Shikamaru replied, "But whatever the outcome, I need to talk to her."

Sasuke took some time to decide whether he should back down. His cold eyes examined Ino and decided that she was unable to do anymore harm to them. "Hn." The assassin lowered his gun and backed down. Shikarmaru walked forward and stopped in front of Ino.

Ino stared at the person who had just stepped in front of her in front of her. A look of deep regret came over Shikamaru's eyes. Not knowing how to face him, she avoided his gaze and looked down.

_Today, Yamanaka Ino passed away._

"So…now you know…" Ino continued to stare at the ground.

"I know much more than this." He held the report in front of her. Angry, he raised his voice slightly. "Tell me! What's going on? If Ino is dead, then who are you?! I won't allow anybody to impersonate her!" He took out a kunai and glared at her furiously.

The girl said nothing but simply continued to look down sadly. "I'm sorry."

"Shut up! Don't say something when you don't mean it!" He flung the report at her. "Read it! Read and tell me what's going on!" Slowly, she gathered the paper in her hands; tears fell from her eyes as she read it.

_Experiment 353: Yamanaka Ino_

_Today, Yamanaka Ino passed away. It has only been one week since we brought her in for experiments but her body had reached its limits. The leader refused to quit and took a sample of DNA from her body. Through that sample, he miraculously created an exact replica of Yamanaka Ino. The downside to this experiment is that the replica had no memories like the original Ino. She was like a blank slate. However, the leader once again did an insane thing; he extracted the memories from the original Ino and implanted the data into the replica's mind. It worked and now, she was like the original, except for the fact that her body cells were considerably weaker than the original's and she would suffer the fate of an early death._

"……Yes." Her hands gripped the report tightly. "It's true. I am not the real Ino. Everything in this report is true…"

"Explain to me. What had happened during the time I was away?" He was still angry with the imposter, but something told him that she was regretting this as much as he did. She continued to shed silent tears.

"I will. I have to tell you everything. It's all I can do for the 'Original Copy'…no, I mean Ino…"

* * *

Sakura: Whew! This chapter is finally done. My god. This is one extremely long chapter. The author needs a break. (lol) BUT NO. I must strive even harder! I'm going to start on the next chapter immediately. 

The whole 'Saving Hinata' saga is about to end. The next part of the story would be focusing on either Naruto or Sasuke. Please give your comments as to whose (sad) past you would like to read about and which character's development you would like to see. Personally, I would like to write about Sasuke's past. I think that he's going to be an interesting character.

Last but not least, **PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!** (Oh god. Please take it that I'm begging you guys. I really took a long time to write and re-read this chapter for better adjustments. Please don't break my poor little heart and not give me any reviews.)

**A big 'Thank You' to all those who reviewed for me previously; you guys are the best.**

This story has hit over a 1000+ views! Thanks to all those who've taken time to read my little story.


	6. Loneliness

Parings: NaruxHinaxSasu, One-sided NejixHina, TemarixShikaxIno and others.

Warning: Possible deep angst at certain times. Slight swearing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Also, I do not own the whole 'position number in the organization thing', I just thought it would be cool to make Sasuke have the same number as Train (from Black Cat). To put it simply, anything that seems similar to the anime Black Cat, or Naruto is copyrighted and **not** mine.

Sakura: Five reviews…(sob) Oh well. I guess I still have to go on for my readers. There might be a slight change in style of writing to inject some personal feelings of the characters into the story. So be prepared for the 'first person's POV' style in the story sometimes. Oh, and for those of you who like songfics, I'm also quite happy to say that there might be some.

Let's bring on the emotional roller coaster!

Edited on 18/6/07: I've been holding this chapter back for too long. Finally it's out…Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Six: Loneliness 

**-Flashback- (Hinata's POV)**

(A/N: Hinata is 12 years old in this flashback and Neji is 13 years old.)

I glanced out of the window. The sky was clear and I could see a father and daughter playing with a ball in the park nearby. I couldn't help but smile.

So this was how it feels like to have a father to play with you.

Ever since young, my body has been really weak. I'm always unable to move around for a long period of time. So, I spent a lot of my time, bedridden. At first, I thought that Otousan cared, but later on, his attitude towards me began to change. I wasn't sure why though. Maybe it was because of Okaasan's death. Otousan never ever spoke to us in a warm tone ever again. He always had a melancholy look on his face and his eyes told us that he was thinking of something or someone far away. I tried to get closer to his heart…to return to the way we once were...

Even Hanabi is trying hard. She's only a mere child of 7 years and she has already surpassed me in terms of our progress of the Hyuuga family techniques. She had told me that her greatest wish was for Otousan to look at her properly for once and to praise her. To do that, she must first become the heir of the family, which was supposed to be my duty. After that talk, we never really spoke ever again.

Everyone…they simply drifted away.

"Hinata-sama…?" A soft voice reached my ears. The door creaked open and there stood my cousin, Hyuuga Neji. He bowed politely and I nodded, "Good morning…Neji-niisan." It was always about formalities between us. Neji-niisan is probably the closest person to me in this family. However, even so…I know that he hates me, somewhere deep down in his heart. I don't blame him though, since the main family was the ones who indirectly sent my uncle, Hyuuga Hizashi, to his death. Neji-niisan has never ever forgiven us for doing so.

"How are you feeling today?" He walked over and poured a glass of water for me.

"I'm fine…thank you for asking." I gave him a small smile. Neji-niisan can be really gentle if he wants to. Yet I know that he's doing all these because it was his duty. It was not because I was his cousin or someone close to him.

I still loved his smile though. It really looks better on him than when he frowns, which he does all the time.

He watched me as I sipped the glass of water and once I was done, I turned to him and muttered a 'thanks'. Neji-niisan nodded. He placed the glass down on the table beside my bed. "Neji-niisan…?" It was curiosity that drove me to ask him.

"Hmmm?" He sat on the floor and leaned against my bed with his back facing me. I couldn't see his expression anymore. That's the thing about Neji-niisan. He doesn't like people reading his mind and is always talking about 'destiny'. He could have sat on my bed, I really wouldn't have minded. Yet he chose to sit on the cold floor and to turn away from me. He really never did forgive us. He pretends that everything is okay, but I know it isn't. He was as hurt as I am.

"What brings you here today?"

He simply sat there, motionless. I tried to imagine his expression, but nothing came to my mind.

"I just thought that I should drop in and check on you."

"Oh…I see." I lowered my gaze a little and turned to the window. The father and daughter, who were playing a moment ago, were gone. Both of us sat in silence. He never really liked long conversations.

"Um…" I decided I should make things less awkward than they were. "So…how is Otousan…? And Hanabi as well…"

"They're fine. Hanabi-sama has been training hard and Hiashi-sama has been settling administrative matters since a week ago."

"I…I'm glad to hear that…" So, they were doing well.

Neji-niisan shifted slightly, as if he was uncomfortable. "Why don't you take a seat on the bed? The floor is cold and hard; you might feel sore after sitting there for some time." I offered helpfully.

Neji-niisan did not move. "No. It's improper for me to sit on a girl's bed…let alone yours. Rules have to be observed in this family. I am someone of a lower status, so I don't really deserve to be sitting on the same level as you."

There he goes again. When he talks about these things, it just…gets me really sad. I really want to help him, but he refuses to open up to me.

Just like everybody else.

"P…Please don't…say so." Oh no. I'm starting to stutter.

"I sincerely thank you for the offer, Hinata-sama. But I really must refuse…and if you would excuse me, I have to take my leave." He stood up, ready to leave.

Suddenly, I saw images of me sitting alone in the room. Images of when I was younger and Okaasan had just passed away. I was crying; there was nobody beside me.

_Where is Otousan...? Why isn't anybody here?_

I was always alone. I tried to be strong and not whine about people leaving me. Still, I knew… I knew that I was always scared. I hated being alone.

"Neji-niisan…" I whispered as I grabbed on to his sleeve. He turned around, giving a startled expression when he saw my tears. "Don't…go…" I begged him, and my grip on his sleeve tightened. Maybe he was going to force me to let go, but I didn't want him to disappear, like the others.

To my surprise, he paused for a moment and he replied, "If you don't want me to go, I'll stay then." He smiled and touched my head gently. My fears melted away and I nodded.

He seemed like an elder brother to me then. He was the only family I had. Even if he despised me, it didn't really matter to me.

I just wanted somebody…anybody…to be by my side…

So that I would never have to be lonely ever again.

**-Flashback Ends-**

* * *

(In the Hyuuga castle, once again…) 

_Experiment 353: Yamanaka Ino_

_Today, Yamanaka Ino passed away. It has only been one week since we brought her in for experiments but her body had reached its limits. The leader refused to quit and took a sample of DNA from her body. Through that sample, he miraculously created an exact replica of Yamanaka Ino. The downside to this experiment is that the replica had no memories like the original Ino. She was like a blank slate. However, the leader once again did an insane thing; he extracted the memories from the original Ino and implanted the data into the replica's mind. It worked and now, she was like the original, except for the fact that her body cells were considerably weaker than the original's and she would suffer the fate of an early death._

Sasuke blinked. _Ino was already dead...? Then who is the person in front of them?_ Naruto sat up slowly; his breathing was still irregular. "Sa…Sasu…" He gasped and clutched his chest. Sasuke's eyes softened and he rubbed his back gently. Then his eyes flashed in annoyance. "Stupid moron. What the hell did you think you were doing? Getting distracted like that…"

"I…just thought…ah…" Naruto coughed harder than before. He bent forward in pain and tried to take in deep breaths.

Worried, Sasuke turned to Shikamaru and yelled, "Shikamaru! Ask her to hand over the antidote before you two continue your little chat! Naruto seems to be in great pain now!"

Shikamaru nodded and held his hand out towards Ino, "Please give us the antidote. I don't want to lose another friend." Ino reached into a pocket by the side of the belt and took out a clear colored liquid. She handed it over to Shikamaru, who then threw it to Sasuke. The assassin caught the bottle expertly and shoved it to Naruto. "Drink this and stay alive, you moron." Naruto tried to take it in, but Sasuke was handing it over to him too quickly. He choked again, but this time on the antidote.

"Sasuke…I think you should let him take it himself…" Neji gave an awkward look as he watched Naruto choking on the antidote. "Te…Teme! You…what the hell…" The blond haired boy coughed some more and then, deciding that he had enough, snatched the bottle from Sasuke and drank it by himself.

Once he was done, he tried to stabilize his breathing and immediately felt much better. His eyes glared at his partner and he frowned, "Were you trying to kill me?! The way you shoved that stupid thing up my face was insane!"

"I was trying to keep you alive." The raven-haired boy shrugged.

"Yeah right. It's no wonder you're an assassin. Have you ever considered a job as a nurse? I bet you can kill much more people there than when you work as an assassin." The Kitsune replied sarcastically.

Sasuke twitched slightly, apparently from anger. "Would you rather I let you die? Or were you wishing for a slow, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?"

Naruto gasped in horror. "Who would want to lock lips with _you_?!" He shuddered, the very image of him and Sasuke… He could not even bear to think about it.

"Well, hey. _I_ should be the one to complain if we did do that."

"But you're the one who would be taking advantage of me!"

"Let's see…I'm sexier, I'm hotter, I'm better-looking…I'm not a moron like _someone_ I know…and I'm definitely more trustworthy when it comes to looks. You look like a punk."

Naruto nearly fainted once more. "T…Teme! I can't believe you actually said that! How big can your ego get?!"

Neji, being the sensible one, decided that he had enough. "Oh god…please stop it, you two. You're scaring me with your conversation. The both of you speak like you're a couple of gays." He placed Tenten on the floor near them and shook his head.

"I'm not a gay! How many times must I-" Naruto was about to retort when Sasuke clamped his right hand over Naruto's mouth. "Shut up." He gave him a warning look and glanced over at Shikamaru and Ino. Naruto followed his gaze and saw that Shikamaru was giving them the scariest death glare anybody could ever muster. A cold chill was sent down his spine and the kitsune practically hid behind Sasuke. "So…Sorry…" He whimpered.

"Well…" Shikamaru sighed and placed his palm on his forehead, as if he had a terrible headache. "Now that they've finally shut up, let's continue… What had happened to Ino when I went away to the Hyuuga castle?"

The girl took a deep breath. Then she exhaled slowly, in a form of a sigh. "When you left for the Hyuuga family…" Her voice seemed like it was stuck in her throat. She paused for a moment before continuing; "Ino…she was worried about you, so she followed you here. She managed to brave the journey here, just because she wanted to bring you back to the village. Everybody missed you, especially Ino."

"I already told her, I would go back as soon as I find a way to resurrect Asuma-sensei. Why was she so stubborn?" Shikamaru felt frustrated. It felt as if it was all because of him that Ino had died.

It was then that the replica 'Ino' shook her head. "She never wanted you to resurrect Asuma-sensei. She wanted to tell you to give it up, because…"

"There's no use in trying to bring back someone who has already left."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "But I thought…that she wanted me to…"

"She only wanted you to be happy. She knew that she wouldn't be able to change your mind." Tears flowed like a river from her eyes. Those feelings…how could she explain them to him properly? "Look at me, for example…" Ino looked up at him with pleading eyes. "I am the 'resurrected' form of Ino. This is as far as they can go. Even if they resurrected Asuma-sensei, he would be nothing but a blank slate."

"But…you have memories…"

"No…" She shook her head once more. "These memories come from the original Ino, before she died. Asuma-sensei is already dead and you have already cremated his body. Do think you can get any memories from his ashes?"

Shikamaru stood there, looking at the girl silently. Maybe she was right. Maybe he already knew that Ino wanted to stop him.

_Shikamaru-kun...look at the flowers, aren't they pretty?_

He had failed her. Slowly, he dropped to his knees.

It's okay. You can cry on my shoulder if you need to... I know that Asuma-sensei was really important to you. He was important to all of us.

The moment he closed his eyes, Shikamaru could see Ino's smiling face in the field of flowers. He could see how she was also crying, that day when Asuma died, but still wanted to save him from his grief.

'Ino' looked at him worriedly and placed her hand on the floor near his knees. She tried to see his face, but hesitated about approaching him when he was so upset. "So…that's why she came…? That's why she…" His voice dropped to a low whisper.

"When she reached the Hyuuga castle, you were nowhere to be found. The Hyuuga family then caught her and they experimented on her. It was a misfortune, when they realized that her body was actually unable to withstand the experiments. That was why they created me. Even when Ino was at her last breath, she wished that she could see you once again."

"It's all my fault then…if I hadn't…"

"No. She chose this path herself. She already knew the consequences…but there's one last thing that I think she wanted to say to you…"

Ino gathered up her courage, and held Shikamaru's hand. "Shikamaru-kun…" She spoke in the ever-familiar voice that he had always liked. When he looked up, the person whom he saw was definitely Ino. She was not a replica; she was his friend. She was someone special. Her eyes were looking at him the way they always did.

"I love you."

It was as if time had frozen. Sasuke, Naruto and Neji watched in stunned silence. Shikamaru's eyes widened, but they immediately faded away to hurt, when he saw that she was smiling, like always. Unable to take it, he pulled her towards his body and embraced her.

"How…how can you forgive me, just like that…?" He started to shed tears.

She smiled and held him close as well. It was Ino, there was no doubt about it. The replica had allowed the memories to take over her body, resulting in the original Ino being really 'resurrected' temporarily. "There's nothing to forgive."

"But I…I've been so selfish! I left everybody alone at the village…I even left you. Then you had to come out and try to find me…but I…" His mind was in a whirl. Everything was rushing towards him too quickly.

"Shhh…" She hushed him. "It's okay. Nobody ever blamed you. We all know that you really missed Asuma-sensei. You've been trying hard as well."

"But I-" Before Shikamaru could say any further, Neji stood up with his Byaakugan fully activated. He got into a fighting stance and yelled, "The both of you, duck!" Thankfully, Shikamaru reacted fast enough and managed to pull Ino and himself out of the way, because at that moment, the door blasted open and the large wooden door missed them by a few centimeters. Sasuke stood up and tried to use his twin guns, but realized that his left arm was still broken. Left with no choice, he decided to fight with only his right arm. Naruto noticed and yelled, "Teme, what happened to your arm!?"

"You moron, there's no time to explain! Something's coming!" Sasuke readied himself and everybody tensed. The dust particles were clearing; they needed to confirm who was the enemy. Neji and Sasuke were especially nervous, as they had noticed the immense power and killing aura that surrounded the enemy.

When the dust particles finally settled, they saw Hinata standing at the door with a cold look in her eyes.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji called out and tried to rush forward, but Sasuke stopped him. "Stop!" The raven-haired boy glared at him and Neji noticed that Sasuke's eyes were blood red. Naruto had also transformed and was bearing his fangs. "Isn't that Hinata…?" He spoke in a low voice.

"It doesn't feel like her…" Shikamaru frowned and held Ino close to him, so that he could protect her. He looked at Ino and asked, "Ino…do you know what's going on?"

She hesitated, before shutting down the control that the memories had on her body. Now, she had the complete set of memories once again, but she was only a replica. "Hinata-sama's killing senses have been fully activated. She no longer recognizes any of us and probably only lives to kill."

"That's some serious shit." Naruto commented as they watch Hinata take a couple of steps towards them. Sasuke's sharingan foresaw her attack, and he commanded them, "Jump!" Right after he said so, Hinata's hair turned back into blades and slammed the pavement, successfully crushing the stone floor into bits. "Kill…Kill the intruders…" A muttering sound was heard as she continued to walk forth with her hair still lashing out at them.

"How are we supposed to dodge this?!" Naruto yelled as he blocked a blade with his claws. "She's like a medusa for god's sake!" Sasuke fired shots at some of the blades and shattered them, but the hair immediately grew back and formed blades once again. "This is bad… Someone think of something right now, or we'll die here!"

"Hinata-sama! Please come to your senses! It's me, Neji!" The Hyuuga prodigy dodged a couple of blades and then parried the last one with a spinning barrier of chakra.

"Ino, is there anything we can do about this?" Shikamaru asked as he jumped away from the blades while carrying her. Ino flinched from the pain in her leg that was caused by the gunshot previously. "I…I'm not sure…I think that the doctor must have implanted something on her. She was still okay when I left her a moment ago…"

"Something…on her…" Shikamaru scanned Hinata for any abnormal signs. _There!_ He spotted a strange looking chip-like device that was on the front of her dress, at her chest. "Naruto! Grab her chest!"

"WHAT?!" The Kitsune blushed and nearly got hit by one of the blades when he stumbled. "You sick, dirty old-" Suddenly, kunais were thrown at Naruto and Shikmaru by Neji. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY 'GRAB HER CHEST'?! Touch Hinata-sama and you'll die!" The Kitsune and brown haired boy dodged the kunais and continued to focus their efforts on not getting hit by Hinata's blades.

Before either Neji or Hinata's blades could kill him, Shikamaru quickly replied, "There's a chip on her chest, you stupid morons! I reckon if you got it off, she would return back to normal! Stop thinking dirty thoughts!"

"Who wouldn't when you simply scream 'Grab her chest'? You should have been more specific!" Naruto bellowed back. The Kitsune rushed forward and parried every single blade that Hinata sent at him.

_Die...Die..._"Die!" She swung her arm forward and it turned into a gun that was fused with a blade. "Holy!" Naruto skidded to a stop and slammed her hand away with one of his long tails. Then a chain of fire appeared from his palms and he surrounded Hinata in a wall of fire. That rendered the blades from her hair useless and she was only able to attack people in a closer range.

Naruto was a little breathless from all the dodging and he tried to catch his breath. Hinata, however, did not give him that chance. She swung her arm forward and the blade on the gun nearly sliced Naruto's head off. The Kitsune ducked down and did a low kick from below. Hinata jumped back and glared at him menacingly.

"Those who stand in my way…shall die!"

She fired two shots from her gun. The blasts were so powerful that they shattered the floor. Naruto knew that he had to act fast or risk losing his head. He leapt and aimed for her chest.

_Almost there!_ He reached out to rip the chip off.

To his surprise, Hinata's hair became blades once more and they pushed him back violently onto the floor. Naruto landed with a loud thud and he gasped for breath slowly as he sat up.

"It ends here." She spoke coldly and aimed her gun at him. Naruto winced and he shut his eyes tightly, while praying that she would miss or change her mind at the last moment.

A gunshot was heard.

Smoke rose from the tip of the gun in Sasuke's right hand. Hinata stood in stunned silence as the chip on her chest cracked from the impact of the bullet. Her face was filled with utter shock and horror. The chip cracked slowly, before breaking apart and falling to the ground with a loud 'clang'.

As if the scene was playing in a slow motion, Hinata fell gently onto the floor. Her eyes were closed and looked similar to when something is being shut down.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji rushed forward when the wall of fire died out.

He lifted her into his arms and shook her. There was no response.

"Hinata-sama! Please open your eyes!" He called out desperately once more.

"It's no use." Ino spoke while being helped by Shikamaru to their side. She shook her head, "Hinata won't wake up. At least…not for now." A regretful look came across her face. Neji felt Hinata's body turning cold in his arms. He rubbed her hands frantically to make sure that they stay warm. "Why…? Isn't there any way to save her?"

"Unlock her memories. Find the 'Sacred Flame'." A deep voice boomed from the direction of the door.

Everybody turned to face the newcomer, and Neji's eyes widened. "Hiashi-sama…"

The Hyuuga leader stepped in through the broken door and fixed his eyes on them. The white pupils of his eyes resembled Neji's; they are soft, but stern and somewhat piercing. He shoved the broken shards of the door aside with his clogs and stood in front of them with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Welcome back, Neji."

* * *

Sakura: Okay…I've actually finished the earlier part of this chapter really early…but then I slacked and only managed to finish the ending now. 

**Please read and review!** I swear…reviews can be my life. **No flames please. Flames would be laughed at, stomped on and chucked into my personal rubbish bin at the back of my head.**

Anyways, the whole Hinata saga would probably end next chapter. You guys still have time to suggest whose past you would like to see. The main choices now are: Sasuke, Naruto, Gaara, Neji.

If you ask me, I would say Naruto's or Sasuke's one might be interesting…

Thanks for reading!


	7. Our Memories

Pairings: NaruxHinaxSasu, One-sided NejixHina, TemarixShikaxIno and others.

Warning: Possible deep angst at certain times. Slight swearing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Also, I do not own the whole 'position number in the organization thing', I just thought it would be cool to make Sasuke have the same number as Train (from Black Cat). To put it simply, anything that seems similar to the anime Black Cat, or Naruto is copyrighted and **not** mine.

Sakura: Oh my god. So many reviews! I'm sooooo happy. Okay. I shall continue to deliver the last chapter in the Hinata saga!

Please enjoy!

Edited: Oh yeah. Please get ready your tissue boxes. This chapter had me slightly pained at the end. I'm not sure about you guys…but yeah. TISSUE BOXES!

* * *

Chapter Seven: Our Memories 

Neji cowered a little. His hands tightened around Hinata's cold body. A small spark of rebellion was seen in his eyes. He steadied himself; after all, they were not dealing with ordinary pawns anymore. The leader has appeared.

"I see that you've invited friends…" Hyuuga Hiashi spoke, somewhat calmly.

"Where is it…?" Neji's voice had almost dropped to a low growl.

"Where is what?" Hiashi continued to fix a cold stare on the Hyuuga prodigy.

"You know what I'm talking about!" Neji swiped an arm in his direction in frustration. "The thing that would save Hinata-sama!"

"The 'Sacred Flame'?" It was unmistakable. Though he had only done it for a while, everybody spotted the slight evil smile that he gave. A sinister motive crept through his voice. Slowly, Hiashi unclasped his hands behind his back and folded them across his chest. "I believe that you are intelligent enough to guess…my dear nephew-"

"Cut the crap and just give us the item." Sasuke suddenly spoke up from behind and a clicking sound was heard as he loaded the gun in his hand.

Hiashi's eyes narrowed. Nobody knew whether it was in contemplation or anger.

"Impatient…aren't we?"

In a flash, he disappeared from where he was standing and stood in front of Sasuke. Aiming his palm at Sasuke's heart, Hiashi thrust forward a deadly strike that was intended to cripple the assassin. Being experienced, Sasuke expected it and parried the attack with his gun. A loud slamming sound was heard and the two seemed to be locked in a fierce parry. Both Hiashi's palm and the hilt of Sasuke's gun were shaking violently, as the two parties struggled to defeat the other with brute force.

"Interesting." Hiashi frowned, "You're indeed an Uchiha."

Sasuke glared back at him with a pair of fierce red blood eyes. "And you're nothing."

"Don't test me…boy." Hiashi swung his palm to the side and broke the parry easily. There was an immense feeling of pressure on all of them as he looked around. Sasuke was about to leap at him when Naruto, being the sensible one for once, stopped him. "Teme…no." He whispered. Sasuke stared at him, "What…? Are you scared?" Naruto growled and shook his head, "He knows that we can't take him on. Even if we did…"

A worried look came across the Kitsune's face. "Even if we defeat him, we'll only be committing suicide with everybody here. We'll all perish. You know how far our powers can go…we'll destroy everything."

A flash of images appeared in Sasuke's head. They were images of people dying and images of…_him_; the dark figure that showed no emotion except for a malicious smirk as everybody was slaughtered one by one…

The gun in Sasuke's hand lowered. He figured that for once, Naruto was right. There was no point in fighting. Even if they did survive, everyone else would not be able to escape fast enough from the battle.

"Ino…have you betrayed us?" Hiashi turned upon Ino this time, slowly piercing her whole body with his harsh gaze.

Ino's hand clasped Shikamaru's shirt tightly and she gazed back determinedly, "I will not kill or do any evil deeds for the Hyuuga family ever again."

Hiashi shook his head slowly, "Fool…fools…all of you." He had raised a palm to strike Ino, when Neji suddenly shouted, "Enough!" The Hyuuga clan leader turned around and fixed his stare on Neji once again. Neji spoke angrily, "Haven't you had enough? Look at your daughter! She's dying! Isn't she one of the few things which your wife-"

"Don't talk to me about her if you don't know anything!" Hiashi lost his composure for once and raised his voice. "What would you know? You're nothing but a child! A mere child who doesn't know the difference between what is important and what is not!"

"I'm the one who knows. Not you." He looked at Hinata's pale face with regret.

"Then tell me. Tell me what do you think is important."

"_Hinata_." For once, Neji's eyes became pleading. "She's important. So are my friends…Lee, Tenten…everybody." He gritted his teeth. "But you didn't care. You only knew and cared about experimenting on humans for your army of zombies or something! You are the one who nearly killed my friends! You are the one who made Hinata-sama into a monster that even she herself feared!"

Hyuuga Hiashi simply stood there in silence. Shikamaru stepped forward and spoke up, "We're not here to kill people. We're here to save Hinata. Have you ever thought that, if she weren't in such a state, we wouldn't be here? We know about what happened to your wife, but Hinata is innocent. You can't just put all the blame on her. I bet she felt devastated too, when her mother died."

"Shut up." Hiashi activated his Byaakugan and he got into a fighting stance. "You'll never understand anything. This house has fallen too far to go back to what it has been." He shifted his feet on the floor. "I will not give up my ideas for something as insignificant as this."

Naruto transformed and his appearance switched to when he was Kyuubi once again. Shikamaru readied some bomb kunais as well. Only Sasuke and Neji remained motionless. "This is your last chance." Sasuke spoke while bandaging his broken arm slightly, "If you don't stop, you're going to lose everything you have ever cherished."

"I have already lost her a long time ago."

In a sudden furry of movement, Hiashi slammed his palms into both Shikamaru and Ino. The both of them were levitated into the air for a few seconds as Hiashi closed off their chakra points with his fingers. After he was done, he pushed the both of them and they went right through the wall where they were thrown. Shikamaru spat out blood, while Ino fell into an unconscious state.

Naruto's eyes widened. _He...He made it seem so...easy..._

Hiashi returned to his fighting stance and faced Naruto. "I know you…" He observed the kitsune's features and continued, "You're Kyuubi." A sarcastic laugh escaped his lips and he looked amused for a few seconds. "How ironic. Here I am…being preached to by _Kyuubi_ and one of the two remaining decedents of the Uchiha clan…"

"When the both of you are murderers yourself." He shook his head and smiled in sinister amusement.

"I'm not a murderer…and neither is Sasuke!" Naruto growled and he lowered himself closely to the floor; ready to pounce and rip his throat off.

"Lies."

Hiashi thrust his palm forward once again and a blue chakra seemed to be emitting from it. Naruto simply held out a claw and stopped the attack easily. A murderous look was on his face. Hiashi tried to leap back, but then he realized that his hand held tightly in Naruto's vice-like grip. The Hyuuga clan leader seemed thoughtful, before relaxing from his fighting stance. Everybody was shocked; they had expected more from him.

A slow chanting sound was heard. Particles of light started to surround Hiashi. "What…?" Naruto covered his eyes to shield them from the bright light. A voice somewhere around him yelled, "Usuratonkachii! Get away now!"

_Too late._

White magnificent wings spread from his back and the chakra which had once been blue, was now a pure white. Naruto gave a yelp and let go of Hiashi's hand when he felt the light pierce through his body. The kitsune was thrown back on the floor and Sasuke managed to stop Naruto's body from sliding back any further. The both of them and Neji watched in horror as Hiashi lifted his head. His Byaakugan was activated and there was white light surrounding his palms.

"Fools…do you know why the Hyuuga family has been feared for so long?" Hiashi's voice has gone deeper by at least a few octaves. His hoarse voice made the air around them shiver and the walls shook slightly.

"Shit…" Naruto choked and flinched as he felt the immense amount of pressure in the air reach him. Sasuke took a glance at his gun and shrugged. "Since you put it this way…" He dropped his gun onto the floor in front of him and activated his Sharingan, "I suppose I won't be needing this anymore." Without looking at his partner, the assassin spoke in a dangerous voice, "Naruto, take everybody out of here."

"No, teme!" Naruto protested when he realized what Sasuke wanted to do.

"I'll be fine. So shut up and do what I say. Get everybody out of here. I think I already know what or who is the Sacred Flame anyway."

Naruto's eyes did not leave Sasuke. "Sasuke…"

"Don't worry." He gave a small smile, "I don't intend to die young."

The kitsune threw one last glance at Hiashi, who was now radiating so much power that the whole room was nearly crumbling. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to look away from both Sasuke and Hiashi. "I'll come back for you. I promise."

"Hn. Since when did I ever need your help?" Sasuke replied stubbornly. Yet there was a touch of gratification in his voice.

Naruto grabbed the fallen body of Ino and helped Shikamaru up, "Think you can run?" The brown haired boy nodded slightly and coughed. "I…think so…" Naruto's cerulean eyes fixed on Neji, "Neji! Time to go! This place isn't going to hold!" The Hyuuga prodigy nodded and lifted Hinata into his arms. It was then that Naruto also noticed Tenten's body lying on the floor near them. He quickly gave Ino to Shikamaru, "Here, take her! I need to get Neji's friend!" He sprinted forwards and scooped her up right before a large part of the ceiling fell onto the place she was laying originally. Neji gave Naruto a grateful smile, "Thanks." Naruto shook his head frantically, "There's no time to talk! We've got to get out of here!" The Hyuuga prodigy nodded back and the three of them then sprinted away easily through the broken door, heading for the exit like Sasuke had told them to, while clutching on to the three girls tightly.

Hiashi laughed. "What you've just done…is prolonging their lives for a few minutes and shortening yours to a few seconds. I'll find and kill them after this."

A black aura formed around the Uchiha. "That is…if you can get through me." A cold feeling washed over Hiashi as he stared into the cold, merciless eyes of the Uchiha. "You Hyuugas think that you're gods or something. Yet the truth is that you're nothing but poor little creatures who are neither human nor angels." He took a step forward and Hiashi nearly flinched.

"Do you…want to know what really happened to the Uchiha family, a few years back?" A slow malicious smile appeared on his lips and Sasuke's fingernails grew longer and his stretched his fingers.

Hiashi's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

Sasuke's clothing changed and his attire looked like something from a long time ago. Dark sleeves that hung by the sides, decorated his arms while part of his two shoulders was left bare. The only thing that probably did not change was his long black coat. Black feathers clouded the area around him.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

* * *

(Outside the castle) 

Naruto carefully placed Tenten on the floor and fell back, exhausted. "Damn…"

The Hyuuga prodigy walked to a nearby tree and put Hinata on a leaning fashion against it. His eyes gazed at her worriedly. _Her body is turning too cold for comfort..._ Neji reached out his left hand to caress her pale face. Hinata continued to stay motionless, as if in a deep slumber. Shikamaru held Ino's hand, while staring at the castle.

A loud explosion sounded and the castle started to crumble. "Shit! Sasuke is still inside!" Naruto sat up straight and stared at the castle with a horrified expression. He clambered up to his feet and took a few seconds to balance himself. "Naruto! Don't go! It's too dangerous!" Shikamaru shot him a warning look, but the kitsune ignored him.

"Sasuke is all I've got…" His voice dropped to a low whisper, "and I'm all that he has."

_We're nothing but lonely souls...gathered for one reason._

With a huge leap, he jumped off the hill that they were on and ran as fast he could towards the castle. Another explosion rocked the area and the second part of the castle begun to fall. Naruto dodged the falling debris expertly and using Kyuubi's style of movement, he pounced onto the rocks one by one. This allowed him to make use of their momentum and climb up to the higher levels of the castle with lesser effort.

"Hold on…" He gritted his teeth and rushed forward. "I'm coming."

* * *

(Inside the castle) 

"Is that all you've got?" A figure with blood red eyes stretched his fingers slowly.

The other person was kneeling on the ground, while coughing out blood. There was a broken wing on his left side and his clothes were torn and tattered. He clutched the left side of his body with his right arm and struggled to catch his breath.

_Too strong...how is this possible...?_ He watched as the figure approached him with malice.

"Like I said…" He swiped out an arm and picked the man up effortlessly by his throat. "You're nothing." A cracking sound was heard and the man tried to scream, but could not. The raven-haired boy was crushing his throat, slowly but surely. His grip tightened and seeing the pain on his opponent's face made him feel somehow excited.

"Sasuke!" A voice called out from the window.

The Uchiha turned and saw Naruto holding out a hand to him. "Let's go! A few more seconds and we're going to be buried!"

_Naruto..._ The murderous look in his eyes disappeared and he stared at what he had done to Hiashi in disbelief. _I...what..._ His eyes traveled from Hiashi's broken wing to the lousy conditions that his clothes were in. In shock, Sasuke's grip on Hiashi loosened and the man fell to the floor with a thud.

"Stop daydreaming! Grab Hiashi and let's get out of here!"

_What have I done...?_ Sasuke's hands were trembling. He looked at his palms; they were filled with blood. He knew that he had done it again. The last time the raven-haired boy went completely out of control was a long time ago. This time…if Naruto was not there to call out to him...

He shuddered to think about the consequences.

Seeing his partner's slow response, Naruto quickly grabbed Hiashi and pulled Sasuke by his collar. "Stupid Teme! Jump!" The both of them leapt of the window at the same time in which the castle crashed to the ground in a heap of stone and rubble. Sasuke landed gracefully on the ground, while Naruto rolled over on the ground for a few seconds. Hiashi's unconscious body landed a few meters away from them.

Naruto looked up and breathed a sigh of relief. Then he turned to Sasuke, "Teme! What did you think-" He stopped short when he spotted the expression on Sasuke's face. The kitsune stared at the assassin. He had never ever seen such an expression on his face before. Not even in all their years of work together. It was the look of pure horror.

"Sasuke…?"

The Uchiha snapped out of his thoughts and stared at Naruto. "What is it?"

"No…nothing." He replied; thinking that certain things were better left unsaid.

Once he regained his composure, Sasuke shuffled towards Hiashi and picked him up. Naruto led him to the hill where everybody was. For once, both of them never spoke at all. They just walked in silence. The sunlight above of them streamed in through the gaps between the branches of the tall trees. There was only once where Sasuke stopped by the river to fill up a bottle with water. After that, the both of them continued to stroll in the direction of the hill.

When Neji spotted them, he smiled, "Thank the gods. We were worried that the both of you might be dead."

"Hn." Sasuke flung Hiashi roughly onto the grass and sat down to take a sip of water.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully, "Well…here's your guy. Go and torture him or kill him for all you like."

Neji nodded his thanks. At that moment, Hiashi begun to stir and he opened his eyes. "Where…am I?"

"You're in Heaven." Naruto joked.

"Really…?" The Hyuuga clan leader did not even have the energy to doubt his words.

"No. I'm joking." The kitsune shrugged and ran over to Sasuke to ask for the bottle of water and left Neji with Hiashi to chat alone.

"Did you really think that a scum like you would go to Heaven…? After what you have done to everybody…" Neji shot a disgusted look at Hiashi and kicked him violently on his side. _Damn. I've always wanted to do that._ Hiashi groaned in pain and gave a soft sigh, "You're right…I really don't deserve to live."

Neji raised his eyebrows in surprise. Hiashi coughed and then continued, "I met…Himiko…when I was unconscious…" His breaths were slow, but certainly steady. That reassured Neji that the old man would not suddenly kick the bucket.

"Hinata's mother?"

"Yes…" He gasped for air once again.

"I bet she told you to go to hell." Neji commented hatefully once again.

Hiashi simply laughed, "I was hoping she did." He gazed at the forest leaves and sighed deeply, "Instead…she didn't say anything at all. She simply gave me a soft, melancholy look…"

_Hiashi...what have you done?_

"I didn't even have time to ask for her forgiveness."

"Even if she forgave you, I won't."

"I know…I can't ask you for that. Not after what I've done…"

Hiashi took a glance at Hinata, "She hasn't woken up…?" Neji stared at him with cold eyes, "And it's all your fault." Hiashi closed his eyes. Images of his daughters and their pasts came flooding to him.

"You can save her."

Neji's eyes widened, before becoming solid as ice once again. "Don't lie, or I'll kill you."

"It's true…you're the 'Sacred Flame.' You are the one who can unlock her memories and wake her up."

"What…?" The Hyuuga prodigy tried not to sound choked, but all that came out was a soft gasp.

"You don't remember being experimented on because we altered that part of your memories." It was time he gave up and confessed everything to Neji. After all, he had already lost the battle a long time ago when he sacrificed his daughters for his revenge. "Haven't you noticed…? Hinata is able to remember some of her memories when you were away recruiting those assassins…"

_He doesn't sound like he's lying._ A voice sounded inside Neji's head.

"Then…how can I save her…?" He feared the answer, but there was no choice.

"Once you know that you're the Sacred Flame, you can unlock your powers easily. As long as you wanted to save her, you would be able to. However…using your powers to save her, would mean that you would disappear." Hiashi opened his eyes and stared at his nephew. He wondered if Neji was able to take the truth. "Are you ready to give up everything for her…?"

The Hyuuga prodigy hesitated. He always knew that one day he would die for Hinata. He just did not know how. Yet now that death is near his door, he can feel the disbelief and fear. He shot a glance at Hinata's sleeping figure. His fear melted away into hope. If sacrificing himself would mean that Hinata would lead a normal life once again…

"Yes."

Hiashi took a deep breath and then sighed, "Neji…our family owes you too much. Do what you must."

By now, Sasuke, Naruto and Shikamaru were also waiting to see his decision. The raven-haired boy's eyes flashed momentarily. Did it actually pain him to see one of his 'friends' disappear? Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head and muttered, "Troublesome…" Naruto, however, walked over to Neji and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Heh. We know that you'll be alright. Even if you do disappear, we'll meet again someday." Saying so, he gave a huge reassuring grin and nodded, "Nobody's story is going to end here today. So don't worry."

Neji looked down for a second before staring at Naruto's cerulean eyes. A faint but genuine smile displayed itself on his lips, "Thank you…Naruto. If you don't mind, would you take care of Hinata-sama for me in my absence?"

"Sure. You can count on me." Naruto showed him a thumbs-up and smiled back.

The Hyuuga prodigy then proceeded to kneel down in front of Hinata. He reached out a hand to touch her cheek and light started radiating around the both of them. At this moment, Ino woke up. She shook her head to clear it, "Shikamaru…kun?" The brown haired boy turned around and smiled, "You're awake. Are you okay?" Ino nodded slowly. "What's…going on?" Her vision focused on the two glowing figures not too far away from them. Shikamaru did not answer. He just simply gazed sympathetically at both Neji and Hinata.

The bright light filled the area. Hinata stirred. Neji kept silent, a soft look on his face.

_Good...you're awake, Hinata-sama._

Her eyes fluttered open in slow motion, "……who…?"

_It's me...please look carefully._

Hinata's pearl-like eyes focused on the person in front of her. A delighted smile appeared on her face, "Neji…niisan…You really came…"

To everybody else who was watching the scene, Hinata seemed to be speaking to herself. Neji was silent and the only movement he made was with his fingertips. He caressed Hinata's face, for the last time.

_Of course I came...silly. Why would I leave you alone?_

"I…I don't know…" Tears started to stream down her face. "I was so scared…I thought…you hated me…you'd rather I die…"

Neji replied with real silence this time.

"P…Please…Neji…niisan…" She shed more tears; each warm drop of liquid flowed onto Neji's fingers and subsequently warmed his heart. It was strange…how he could feel warm and yet sorrowful in his heart at the same time, "Don't…hate me…don't…leave…"

_I don't hate you...Hinata-sama._

She raised her hand to hold his hand which he had placed on her cheek. She closed her eyes slowly and felt the gentle touch of his skin on hers. "I…I'm so happy…" A choked voice escaped her lips, "I…I'm really so…happy…" She had been wishing for this moment for so long. For the time Neji would tell her that he did not hate her. That he would not leave her…or would he?

_But I have to leave you...Hinata-sama. I'm so sorry..._

In shock, she quickly snapped out of her daze, like a bird that has fallen from the sky. "What…?" She whispered, in a tone that told him of her disbelief. Neji started to fade. The light particles coming from him looked like they were consuming every last part of his body.

_I...have to go..._

By now, Neji found that it was getting harder and harder to talk. He was straining himself just by trying to say a couple of words. The only thing that he saw however was Hinata's stunned face.

"Go...where?" Her grip on his hand tightened. _No...don't vanish..._ She prayed. _Not now...not ever._

Neji knew his time was up. He drew back his hand from her cheeks and held her arm tightly. The next thing he was going do would surprise everybody, maybe even himself. He pulled Hinata close to him and held her in the closest embrace he could manage from that position. A single drop of warm liquid flowed down his cheek as well. Was he crying? Maybe. But he wanted to hold her like that…and never let go.

"Neji…niisan…" At first, she was surprised, but Hinata did not struggle. She accepted him wholeheartedly. "What are you doing…? Where are you going?" Panic rose from her voice. She could not see his expression, but the others could.

Sasuke looked away, with a hurt expression in his eyes. He had never liked a sad ending like this, even though he was a sadist himself. Ino was crying silently and Shikamaru was holding her tightly to him. Naruto was looking down and it was hard to see his face.

_Please...Hinata...Just...a while longer..._

He was afraid, very afraid indeed. He was afraid of losing her for good. He was afraid that he would never get to see her in the future. If he had let go of her now, would he return?

"Neji…nii-" She was confused.

_Just..._

Neji's voice in Hinata's mind started to fade. She blinked hard and tried to focus on hearing his voice.

_Just...a while...longer..._

The lights started to disappear, taking Neji along with them. Hinata's eyes widened upon seeing Neji disappearing. His silhouette was fading very quickly.

_I promise._

Then he mouthed a few words. Yet she did not understand. She could not hear him. "Niisan…? Niisan…!" Her body had regained its full energy and she finally could reach out to grab him. "Neji-niisan…! Don't go! Don't leave me!"

A final smile. Then the lights faded for good.

Hinata reached out to hold him. When her embrace finally completed its circle and she thought that she could finally hug him back, she felt nothing but air. Her embrace shattered the remaining small specks of light and they rushed past her, before disappearing into the sky.

Silence was heard.

A soft whisper, "_Neji_…?"

Hinata's shoulder sagged. Her hands fell limp onto the floor. She was crying, but something felt numb inside of her. There was a large gaping hole in her heart, in the place where her beloved cousin used to be. Was he even _just_ a cousin? She was not sure. She just knew that she had never felt so upset before. There was a lot of pain. Something ached inside of her.

Then she spotted something on the floor where Neji was.

Carefully, as if it would crumble into dust any moment, she picked it up and dusted it slightly. A twinkling of the bell responded to her call. It was a charm, yet definitely not an ordinary one. It was the one she had given to Neji during when they were younger. He was going away for a mission and she was worried. So she had practically dragged her frail body all the way to the temple on the opposite side of the nearby Konoha village to get the charm for him. Neji never said anything. He simply thanked her for it and then walked away. Hinata heard that he was punished later on by Hiashi for letting her out of his sight. She cried that night, thinking that she had done a terrible thing.

What she did not know was…that charm had never left his side ever since.

Now, the slim brown piece of wood that had wordings carved onto it was in her hands. The bell twinkled once more. On the front, it read 'To Ensure Safety.' Hinata flipped the tag over and read the words that were neatly carved onto the back:

**I pray that Neji-niisan would always return from his missions safely and that he would be able to find true happiness.**

**Signed Hyuuga Hinata.**

It was her handwriting.

Hinata clutched the charm closely to her chest and breathed out deep sorrowful sobs, "Why…? Why were you always so dishonest with yourself…?" A pained look came across her beautiful pale face.

Footsteps were heard. A pair of legs stopped right in front of her.

When she looked up, she saw a handsome face with dark but lonely raven colored eyes. The person stared at her momentarily, before responding, "Take it easy. He'll be back soon."

She sniffed once, like a little girl after crying. "Do you think so?"

"Well." The voice replied emotionlessly in a stoic tone, "He did promise us that he would come back. So he'd better. Besides, I don't think he felt safe leaving you alone in this harsh world." The person offered her a hand and nodded. "Let's go back to Konoha."

Hinata did not reply. Her eyes continued to look downcast, but she lifted up her right hand and took his. She felt the person gave her a tug and she stood up easily. Her pearl-like eyes surveyed the castle. It was gone. Then it traveled to all the injured people around her. She did not recognize any of them except for Ino. A boy, with long yellow hair and deep blue cerulean eyes…A boy with a spiked hairstyle at the end of his high-ended ponytail…A girl, lying motionless near them…and lastly, the boy with raven hair; the one who lifted her up on her feet.

Then her eyes noticed a withering figure on the floor nearby. She gave a slight gasp.

_Otousan._

She approached him cautiously. Hiashi stopped still and looked up to gaze into her eyes. Apprehension clouded her features. Was this the man who caught her and forced her to leave a tortured life as a killing machine? Or was this man her father? Should she hate him for causing such pain towards her? And Neji…This was the man who took Neji away from her. He was the cause of everything.

"Hinata…" A soft voice escaped Hiashi.

_Dear gods. _Hinata placed her hands near her lips and bit her lower lip to hold back tears.

"I'm sorry…" He was looking down; a deep regretful look.

Slowly, she reached out a hand to touch his face, but hesitated and withdrew after a few seconds. She did this for two times, before her fingers finally graced his cheeks. Hinata felt the rough, yet somehow gaunt face of her father. Has he suffered enough? The guilt…the shame…

_Don't blame your father...Hinata. He gets too caught up in his work sometimes._

She could see her mother smiling and patting her head. Hinata always liked to seek shelter and care from her mother when her father had scolded or caned her. She was taught to be patient and understanding by all the lessons that her mother had taught her. Yet she was already gone and the lessons had already ended.

"I'm really sorry for everything."

Then she cried. It was her father. Finally he was back.

Hinata rushed forward and hugged her father. "Otousan…Otousan…" She kept calling his name. "Neji-niisan…he…" She sobbed, possibly louder than she ever did before. "He's gone…him…and okaasan…Oh otousan…why…why…?"

Hiashi patted the back of his daughter's head. "I know. I know…"

"Then…why…? Why…?"

"It has always got to do with whether we have choices. Neji wanted to save you…Your okaasan also wanted to save you… They made a choice to sacrifice themselves for something that they thought was worth protecting."

Hinata continued to cry on her father's shoulders. She did not ask any further, but she felt the pain of it all.

Sasuke watched them and sighed. He turned to Naruto, "Come on…let's get back to the village. We need to report on this mission." The kitsune gave a sad look and nodded. "Okay…I'll go inform them…"

Then it started to rain.

* * *

(Back in Konoha…) 

Sasuke stood silently in front of the Hokage's desk. He was no doubt, in a bad mood. The look on his face was not the usual frown or glare of irritation. Instead, it was something much deeper. Something much more unreadable…

"Well done, the both of you." Tsunade stamped a 'Success' onto the file and snapped it shut. Her eyes traveled to the both of them, and immediately noticed their unhappiness. When they delivered the report to her, she felt quite sure that they had left out too many details. One of them, for example, is the disappearance of their client.

For the first time, Naruto did not grin or cheer when she praised them. Instead, he took a deep breath and gave a quiet sigh.

"Tsunade-baachan…you knew…right?"

Tsunade shook her head. "No, I didn't. It was rather unexpected as well, if you ask me."

"Well…we need to discuss something with you."

"Speak your mind then, Number X."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully, "Is it okay for Shikamaru, Ino, Tenten, Hinata and her father to stay in Konoha for now…? I don't think that they have anywhere to go to."

"I've made arrangements for that." Tsunade revealed calmly, "They can stay or leave. It is up to them. Hiashi, however, must receive his punishment. Seeing that he has somehow repented, we would make it less harsh. Also, we have managed to save some of the people in the castle who had escaped to the outside."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Is there a person called Lee or something…? I think he is Hyuuga Neji's friend…"

"Yes…we found him as well."

"That's good…" Naruto gave a faint smile, "I'm sure Tenten and Neji would be happy to know…ah. I mean…that is…if Neji is here…" He stopped short and gave a miserable look once more.

"It isn't like you to be so upset and gloomy." Tsunade noted. She gave Naruto a smile, "Cheer up, Naruto."

The Kitsune nodded and bowed, "If there's nothing else, we'd better get going..."

Tsunade held up a hand to stop them. "Number XIII, please stay back. I have something that I would like to speak to you about. Number X, please excuse us for a moment."

Naruto shrugged and exited the room, leaving Tsunade and Sasuke alone.

The Uchiha glared at Tsunade with piercing eyes, "What is it?"

"There, your murderous intent is back." She gave a slight chuckle.

"Quit the jokes and move along. I'm in a bad mood."

"Fine. You asked for it." Tsunade gave a serious expression, almost immediately. "You used your power again during this mission, am I right?" Her eyes challenged him to lie. Something in her stare was telling Sasuke that she would beat the crap out of him if he did lie.

"Yes."

"Why?" Her voice dropped to a low growling whisper. "You know that you're forbidden to. The two of you…I've already mentioned this a long time ago!"

"I had no choice. Hyuuga Hiashi was about to rip our heads off and probably eat them. Would I have beaten him so easily if I were going easy on him?" Sasuke was not intimidated. His eyes blazed murderously and his fists tightened, as if he would strangle her any moment.

"That's not a reason to use your power. You knew how destructive it is."

"Hn."

"I can now only thank the gods that Naruto did not activate his powers as well. The both of you could have easily destroyed the entire land within a 20km radius." She was not joking. Sometimes, you would have to see things to believe it. Tsunade believed that the both of them were the hardest the control, because they were the _strongest_ beings. Though she would hate to believe it, she would be afraid of them at times as well. After she had seen Naruto got berserk once… She shuddered to think about how strong Sasuke would be if he had transformed. That was the reason why he had _that_ dark secret.

"I can control it."

"Lies." Her eyes flashed dangerously. "The last time it happened…you destroyed the-"

"Shut up!" The Uchiha raised his voice. "You promised that we wouldn't mention this. Not then, and not ever! If you speak of it once more, I swear I'll kill you. Especially if Naruto gets to know…" He snarled angrily.

"Then you would admit that you went slightly out of control this time again?" The air in the atmosphere intensified. Tsunade was boiling with rage as well, but not so much as Sasuke, who had slight blue electric currents crackling around his body.

The Uchiha hesitated. "Maybe."

Tsunade stared at him for a long while, before slumping backwards onto the chair. "_Sasuke...Sasuke..._" She muttered, somehow helplessly. "You can't run away from this forever. We had covered up for you many years back…but we can't help you forever, my dear child…"

A slight pang of guilt hit him. "……I know."

"Please, do exercise caution the next time."

"Hn."

"Alright…if you would leave me alone for a while…" She took out a bottle of sake and nodded, "I would like to take a break…Maybe the both of you should do so as well."

The assassin bowed and strolled out of the room.

"Why…? Why won't they listen…?" Tsunade mused once more. "If Sasuke goes on like this…I'll have to ask someone to take him down."

_And the only person who can do so...is probably Naruto._

* * *

Sakura: YES. This extremely long chapter is finally done! Well. Everybody curious about Sasuke's past? –Grins evilly- Hahaha. It would be revealed in the time to come! 

In the next chapter, they would be settling some talking and having a party. Anybody wants Hinata drunk? Haha. I'm partially joking.

Explanation for certain parts:

1) The part where Neji was disappearing, he wasn't really talking. He was speaking to Hinata in his mind. Only until the last part where he mouthed a few words, then he did speak. So the other people did not hear their conversation. Therefore, the Italics were actually him speaking to Hinata in her mind. But I suppose that you guys know. It might have been confusing though…

**Read and review PLEASE!** I spent like…a long time on this chapter, despite my towering stack of homework. So please treat me well. **No flames please! Any flames given would be cruelly stepped on, knocked down by a heavy vehicle and eaten by rats.**

Thanks for reading!


	8. The ties that bond us to our pasts

Pairings: NaruxHinaxNeji, SasuxHikaxItachi, One-sided TentenxNeji, TemarixShikaxIno and others.

Warning: Possible deep angst at certain times. Slight swearing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Also, I do not own the whole 'position number in the organization thing', I just thought it would be cool to make Sasuke have the same number as Train (from Black Cat). To put it simply, anything that seems similar to the anime Black Cat, or Naruto is copyrighted and **not** mine.

Sakura: Okay…though I only got a few reviews…-sob- I shall continue this story. It is my love for writing after all. Also, for those who are extremely susceptible to freaking out if Gaara dies… No, he's not dead yet. (Yes…he escaped. He IS Gaara after all.) So no worries.

I'll try to add humor into this chapter. (No matter how dry it is…) Therefore my writing style might shift a little.

Pairings might be changed. I'm still thinking. (Because I want Sasuke for myself. Haha. I'm joking… Sort of. xD)

Nobody wants Hinata drunk? Well, I do!

**Edited (12/07/07): Parings HAVE been changed. Please refer to above for the new pairings. For the benefit of everybody, I shall explain that Hikari is my original character and since I couldn't find anybody in Naruto that could fit Sasuke properly; I've decided to create her in order to give him someone to love.**

**Now my new problem is…who the hell is Gaara supposed to love?**

* * *

Chapter Eight: The ties that bond us to our pasts 

**(Sasuke's POV) (In a dream)**

"_No...Stop! Don't hurt me! Go away!"_

"_Sasuke...run! Hurry!" I know that voice. It belongs to someone whom I once knew..._

_I feel myself reaching out. Just a little further; I really need to open that door. A pair of strong hands grabbed me. I screamed, non-stop...like a little girl. "Go away!" Struggling to break free, I twisted around the man and managed to bite him._

"_Shit! You stupid little brat-" Saying so, he flung me to the opposite side of the room. I lay there, writhing and curling up into a ball. A woman wearing a white kimono appeared beside of him, holding a smoking pipe. "Now now...let's not get so angry over a bastard child like him."_

"_He bit my hand! That damn child..."_

"_I know." A cold look flashed over her eyes. I'll never forget that look for as long as I live. That look...is one of pure rejection and intense hatred. "He IS the devil's spawn after all."_

_I wanted to cry. I felt so weak. Why...?Why did they reject me...? Just because...Just because my mother..._

"_P...please let me go..." I pleaded._

"_Let you go...?" The woman repeated sarcastically. An evil sneer appeared on her face. I've realized at that point of time that no amount of make-up or lipstick could ever hide the ugliness that hid itself deep in her heart. I gave a slight shudder. I saw the blood-red flash in her eyes._

"_I didn't do anything...I didn't do anything to deserve this!" I cried out in agony._

_She descended upon me; gliding like a shadow across the dark room. The lady placed a smooth, pale white palm on my chin and lifted it up. I saw the cruelty in her eyes; she saw the fear in mine. "Yes, you did." She whispered. "You are different from us. You're abnormal. You're the devil's spawn."_

"_I'm...not! My mother...she isn't...!" A burst of energy that came from memories of my mother, gave me the courage to retort her._

_Smack! A loud sound and a piercing pain sheared across my cheek. "Shut up! Don't you dare to talk back to me!"_

_Tears began to fall. Why...? Why were they so cruel...?_

_Seeing my pain, the lady gave a malicious smile once more, and she did the most unimaginable thing. She lifted up her pipe, and slowly pressed it to my right arm. Fire burned through my child-like skin and I shrieked in pain before thrusting her arm away. My arm was bleeding badly, and the flaring pain did not recede. I gripped my bleeding right arm with my left and watched as she stood up nonchalantly before pointing at my wound and mouthing incantations. I watched in horror as the ugly scar on my hand slowly shaped to become the insignia of the Uchiha family._

"_You will pay for the sins of your birth. From this day forth, you are nothing but a slave for the Uchiha family; nothing but a devil's spawn that we have taken in to torture. When you've run out of your usefulness..." She paused, and smiled that fake smile like she always did._

"_I will kill you."_

_A rush of madness. I could feel the flaring hatred coming from deep within me._

_I knew what would happen next. That was why they called me the 'devil's spawn'. I blacked out in my conscious, but I could still somehow vaguely remember how I lashed out at them such power...such ferocity... There were vague, unclear images of me running across the room at an unbelievable speed and the sound of bones breaking and skin ripping apart._

"_Sasuke! Stop!" That familiar voice again._

_I ignored his pleas, and stabbed at them with my long deadly fingernails; like a vampire. I plunged my right hand through the man's chest and held his heart for a split second, before ripping it out and shoving his motionless body onto the ground. Blood spilled onto the once beautiful wooden floors of my 'home'._

"_Burn..." I chanted; hatred filled my eyes. "Burn in hell..."_

"_Sasuke!"_

_Another arm reached out to grab me this time. Upon contact, I spun around and glared at the person through my dark abysmal eyes. The familiar face that looked like mine...The pure blooded Uchiha..._

_Unlike me._

_I growled in a low voice, quite unlike my own. "Let me go, Aniki..."_

"_Enough, Sasuke."_

_It's not enough. I want revenge. Everything...I want revenge for everything they've done to me._

* * *

(In Sasuke's house…) 

The assassin awoke in cold sweat. His breaths continued repeatedly over a period of time, before steadying themselves. He ran his fingers through his wet, raven hair and cursed under his breath.

"Shit…that dream again…" _It has been so long already...why won't it just go away?_

Sasuke sat up slowly on his bed and pushed the white covers aside gently. The warm sunlight streamed through his bedroom window and onto a photo on his desk. Sasuke's eyes caught sight of it and his feet touched the floor gently, before shuffling to the table. Nostalgically, he picked up the seemingly ordinary wooden frame and a sorrowful look set itself into his eyes. The picture was taken when he was younger, at probably the age of 9 or 10. They were happy then; his brother, him and _her_. Yet now…only he survived.

A sarcastic laugh was heard. "Of course…what am I thinking? I was the one who killed them."

At least, if it was as what he had remembered.

The raven haired boy sighed. He placed the frame back onto the table. Sasuke knew that he had regretted killing them for as long as he could remember. Yet what good would it do now? They were cold and very dead. There is no way he could ever gain their forgiveness.

"Sasuke!" A bright voice chirped from the window.

Before he could walk over to check on who was calling him, a boy with blond hair and cerulean eyes was sitting on the window sill. Sasuke nearly flinched. "Naruto…"

Upon seeing his reaction, the Kitsune was delighted, "Ha! I bet I scared you. See? I can move extremely fast too."

"No…it's not that…"

_Huh? Is it me...or does Sasuke sound a little...awkward?_ Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

"I…uh…" Sasuke stared at himself; from his bare hands to shoulders to his chest…

"What's wrong?" Naruto hopped in and stuck his face in front of the assassin. "You seem flustered."

Sasuke continued to shift uncomfortably. "Just…get out."

"But wha-"

"God damn it, Usuratonkachii! Just go!" Sasuke yelled, but his eyes were looking away and there was a tinge of red on his cheeks. Naruto, being somehow extremely slow, did not notice the problem still.

"What? Did you miss your daily mental pills or something? You're acting really weird!" The Kitsune argued back with defiant eyes.

"……Just leave."

"No. Not until you tell me what's pissing you off."

_Stupid bloody..._ Sasuke cursed in his mind. Why was this guy even his partner? _Isn't it obvious why I'm asking him to leave?_

"I'm asking you to leave, you moron."

"But why?" Naruto growled.

"…..because…" Sasuke pointed to his bare chest embarrassedly. Why…? Why MUST Naruto make it so hard for him? The boy looked on curiously and his eyes seem to bore a hole through Sasuke, making him blush madly.

"Because…?"

"……" Sasuke muttered something quietly.

"Huh? Teme…I can't hear you."

"OH FOR FU-" Sasuke stopped himself in time before he managed to mutter the obscenity. He shook his head and gave a pained look. "Naruto. If you hadn't noticed…"

"The top half of my body is naked."

"Oh." The Kitsune blinked once again. "And…?"

"AND I don't like people staring at my body. That includes you."

For the first time, Naruto realized that he was staring at Sasuke's body. To make it worse, he looked like he was _gaping_ at his body because of his constant gaze towards it. Sasuke was wearing a pair of baggy shorts below, but he preferred to sleep with his top naked. That explains the fact that he was semi-naked.

Right in front of his partner.

Naruto did not seem to mind much though. Except for the fact that… _God. He's hot._ His eyes traveled down Sasuke's muscles. The Kitsune knew that his partner worked out often, but what he saw was ridiculous.

"Ah…I mean…we…uh…guys…"

"No. I don't even like guys staring at me like that. So if you would so-ever-kindly leave me alone…" Sasuke walked over to his cupboard and searched for his long coat.

Naruto could not resist. He swallowed nervously, "Sasuke…did you know that…uh…"

"What is it?" Sasuke replied, once again in an irritated tone.

"You have a nice body."

There was a crashing sound and a loud thump. Naruto watched in horror as Sasuke walked directly into the bathroom door and slammed his face accidentally. The poor assassin sat down on the floor rubbing his nose woefully. "Sasuke! You okay?" The blond haired boy rushed over to help him up.

"No. I can manage." The raven haired boy pulled a foot up and kneeled on it for a few seconds before standing up slowly.

"I'm sorry…"

"You'd better be. I can never understand what is going through that empty head of yours and why I would always have a string of bad luck around you."

"Ah…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Hn." The Uchiha proceeded into the bathroom to brush his teeth, spike the back of his hair and get changed. Feeling guilty, Naruto did not make any noise outside and managed to remain as tame as a puppy.

When Sasuke finally came out, he shot a curious look at Naruto and cocked his head to one side. "I don't suppose you came so early for nothing."

Naruto smiled; Sasuke was always very observant. "Yeah. I want to throw a welcome party for Hinata-chan and the others. I've already sent out invitations! I just needed someone to go grocery shopping with me."

_Hyuuga Hinata...? Oh. That Biotech girl._ "What time is the party starting?"

"Well…I wanted everybody to interact, so I set it at 4pm, slightly before evening."

Sasuke glanced at the clock. _8am... we have a lot of time on our hands then._

"Okay. Let's go then." He needed the walk anyway. After all, being with a moron like Naruto would definitely take his mind that horrible dream. The Uchiha spotted Naruto grinning madly. He had a bad feeling. The dream would definitely be the lesser evil if he were to choose between Naruto and it…

Wait. Actually, he was not sure.

* * *

(A few hours later: After grocery shopping…) 

Sasuke solemnly swore never to go shopping with Naruto ever again.

_Someone please kill me._ He looked down, partially disturbed and tired. _No wait, I'll kill him first. Then I'll commit suicide._

Never in his entire life has Sasuke even seen such a picky person. Naruto practically dragged him all over Konoha and to several shops. If Sasuke hated shopping at first, Naruto had just made it worse.

"Why in the world are we shopping for so many items…?"

"Well, it's a big party!" Naruto gave him a thumbs-up and flashed _the_ annoying Gai-sensei trademark grin at him.

Sasuke's hand flinched and reached slightly for his twin guns which were sitting quietly on his brown belt as usual. Silent, but murderous.

"Hn." His hand moved away from the guns. The Uchiha set his gaze upon the green forests that surrounded the village. It was not a surprise that their village was called a _hidden_ village. After all, who in the world would want to cross such dangerous and thick forests just to get to a place where they would eventually be spotted and killed?

Yet for now, everything seemed calm.

"_I can control it."_

"_Lies. The last time it happened…you destroyed the-"_

"_Shut up! You promised that we wouldn't mention this. Not then, and not ever!"_

Sasuke's dark raven eyes traveled to the Kitsune who was bouncing around him happily. His eyes flashed for a moment, before glancing at the ground. The talk that Tsunade had with him a few days ago echoed in his mind again. If his partner knew about what he had done…would he despise him as well? Sasuke's face turned expressionless and cold. He was alone once more. This is a darkness that he had to fight himself, but he was not sure whether he even wanted to continue rebelling against it.

"_You can't run away from this forever. We had covered up for you many years back…but we can't help you forever, my dear child…"_

His hands gripped the handle of the plastic bags tightly. It was getting harder to breathe.

"……Sasuke?"

Naruto's voice snapped Sasuke out of his thoughts. "What?"

"Nothing…it's just…your face looked kind of scary for a moment."

"Scary?"

"Yeah…" Naruto shifted uncomfortably, "You looked like you were angry, then nervous... at the end, I thought you were going to faint."

"Hn."

"So…?"

"What?" He repeated once again, slightly irritated but nevertheless grateful to Naruto for pulling him from those horrible thoughts.

"Do you want to talk about it? I mean…the thing which has been bothering you."

Sasuke hesitated.

"No."

Naruto nodded, "It's up to you then. Cheer up though. The party is going to be a smash!" He chuckled and punched a fist in the air.

Even Sasuke could not help but smile. "Whatever."

Just as they were leaving for the newly built Hyuuga family mansion where the party was going to be held, Sasuke paused for a moment. His face paled and his eyes widened. _Wh…What…?_ He doubted what he saw. It was impossible. There was a flash of blue hair.

_Where...Where is it...?_ His eyes scanned the area frantically. They traveled to the bend around the corner. Something like a past memory seemed to float there; waiting for him. Without thinking, he dropped the bags of grocery and dashed to the corner around the bend.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called out worriedly.

_I know this. I couldn't have seen it wrongly._ His breathing started to get faster and faster. He slid around the bend at the corner and found himself to be staring at a normal crowd of people walking around and chatting happily. The chakra that he had spotted and the flash of blue were gone. The memories seemed to have faded as well.

_Hallucination…?_ There was a tinge of disappointment.

"Teme! What in the world is wrong with you today?"

Naruto grabbed Sasuke, forced him to face him, and was about to continue when he saw his partner's eyes. "Sa…Sasuke…your eyes…" He stuttered.

Sasuke's Sharingan was activated.

The Kitsune has never seen his partner activate the Sharingan without a good reason before. He figured that something must be really bothering him.

Sasuke blinked once. Then he looked away quickly.

"I thought…I saw someone I once knew…"

"Then what the hell is so surprising about that?"

"That person is supposed to be dead."

"Wha-?" The Kitsune gave a puzzled but shocked expression.

"Never mind…I must have been too bothered by events lately." The raven haired boy shook his head displeasingly. Did he really feel so guilty till the extent that he was hallucinating about _her_? There was a feeling of tightness in his chest. "We'd better get going." The assassin muttered softly.

"Oh. Right…"

Slowly, Naruto let go of him and went back to the grocery bags. He knew, however, Sasuke's eyes were still blood red. A part of him wanted to turn back and make sure that he was wrong. Yet another part told him otherwise.

Just _what_ was bothering Sasuke…?

* * *

(5 minutes after Sasuke and Naruto had left for the Hyuuga mansion) 

A girl gently picked up an apple from the store and smiled gently while cupping it in her hands. She reached into her pocket for a couple of coins and paid the fruit seller. She walked through the streets, evidently attracting a lot of attention. She had long flowing blue hair and big oceanic blue eyes. There was an air of elegance around of her, but at the same time, it contained cuteness. The bells on the big red ribbon that she wore at the back of her clothes, which resembled an altered kimono, tinkled as she continued to stroll along happily.

She reached a house that sat in a shaded part of the village and pushed open the door gently. There was a man sleeping on the sofa and she giggled playfully.

Creeping over stealthily, she placed the apple on the coffee table and bent down till her face was on the same level as the sleeping person. She could almost feel his breaths touching her face as she played around with the stray strands of his dark raven hair.

Without warning, his eyes opened and the man reached out a hand to grab her.

"Ah!" She exclaimed in fright and was locked in an embrace from behind by the man.

"Caught you." A slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Mou..." She struggled and tried to break free from his strong grip. "Itachi-san…Let me go!"

"Do you think I don't know what you're trying to do?" His dimmed eyes flashed slightly. "I'll have to punish you for this."

"I…ah…" She panicked as he started nuzzling on her neck. "I…I'm sorry! I just thought…I didn't want to wake you up…because…" She let out another slight yelp when Itachi bit down into her soft skin.

"Because…?" He murmured.

"Because…ah! Don't! It tickles!" She twisted slightly away, hoping that Itachi would stop rubbing on her neck.

"You haven't answered my question."

"How am I supposed to answer while you're…you're doing this?" She frowned and looked away, but evidently blushing.

"Fine." Itachi stopped nuzzling her neck and forced her to look at him directly. "Better now?"

"Y…Yes…"

"Answer." Itachi had never liked to talk much. One word from him says it all.

"Because you rarely slept so peacefully...so I couldn't bear to wake you up."

"Hn." That was what he liked about her. She was always so observant and caring towards others.

She snuggled against his chest. "You're going to accept that job today right?"

"Yes."

"Will you be okay?" The girl frowned slightly.

"I think that I have enough practice over the past few years. I should be alright by now."

She looked up slowly. Her blue oceanic eyes glanced into Itachi's dimmed raven ones. Sensing that she was staring at him, Itachi cocked his head to one side slightly. "Is something wrong?" She shook her head and said nothing. Then she placed her hands on his face and cupped his cheeks gently. She felt the pale skin move slightly under her touch, but Itachi did not back away. She had no doubt in Itachi's skills, but she was worried about something else.

"Hikari…?"

She lifted herself up and kissed him on the forehead. "Itachi-san…I'll…find it for you. So don't go, please?"

"I can't rely on you forever." He rubbed her cheeks softly as well. "Besides…I'm not the one whom you should be with."

"But I'm really worried. You…" Her tears started to fall and splash onto his fingers.

"I'll be fine."

Once again, she looked into Itachi's eyes for signs of reassurance. Yet there was none. His raven eyes remained emotionless and dim.

He sensed her insecurity and pulled her closer before brushing his lips against hers. They only stayed that way for a few seconds or so, but it felt like an eternity. "Believe in me." He whispered after they broke apart.

Hikari nodded. "I will."

With that, she got off his lap and he stood up to grab his bamboo straw hat. It had a similar looking bell to Hikari's, on the edge. Itachi pulled on his long coat and bamboo straw hat silently, before heading towards the door.

"I'll be back soon."

The girl glanced at him with her blue eyes and nodded. The door opened and closed. Suddenly, the house felt very cold and unforgiving.

_He never tells me anything._

She notices the apple on the table. She had bought it for Itachi, but figured that it was too late to give it to him now.

_Is he intending to bear the heavy burden all by himself?_

Hikari held the apple close to her chest and closed her eyes. She was praying hard; hoping that nothing bad would happen to Itachi…and _him._

_That's right…his name is…_

"Sasuke-kun…"

* * *

(At the Hyuuga Mansion…) 

"Hinata-chan!"

A girl in a white kimono looked up and smiled gently. "Naruto-kun…" She placed the cup of tea she was drinking onto the table and stood up gracefully. As Naruto entered the room, she bowed politely and stated in a soft voice, "The both of you are early…"

"Naruto wanted help out with the preparations, so here we are." Sasuke took off his long coat and hung it on a nearby chair. Then he took off his brown belt as well, in case the others felt uncomfortable being in the presence of guns.

"Yeah…and…uh…" The cerulean eyes of the kitsune shot a look at Sasuke. Hinata noticed, and asked Sasuke to excuse them for a moment. She padded into the garden and motioned for Naruto to follow.

Once they made sure that they were left alone, Hinata nodded. "You can speak your mind now."

"Ah…It's…nothing really." Naruto rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Are you sure…? You seem to be disturbed by something about Sasuke-san."

"Yeah…"

"Do you want to talk about it? I mean…maybe you'll feel better."

"I…"

"Yes…?"

"It's just…Sasuke has been acting weirdly recently." Naruto stared far up into the sky and pretended to observe the clouds. "Ever since we got back from the mission concerning you, Sasuke has been very edgy and he often has this weird look on his face."

"What kind of weird look…?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"I can't tell." He sighed, "It's too complex for me to read. It's feels like…he's in pain and sorrow at the same time."

"Sounds like the mission did something to him. Throughout the whole thing and at any point in time, was Sasuke-san acting strangely?"

"No…I don't think- Oh wait. There _was_ this part when I went back to get him and your father... I didn't notice then, but Sasuke seemed really out of control, now that I think about it. He looked like he wasn't able to suppress his power."

"Power…?"

Naruto paused. Should he tell her?

"Um…yeah…" He shifted slightly on his foot. "Sasuke and I…we…"

"Don't worry. It is okay if you don't want to say it. After all, we all have secrets…don't we?" Hinata gave a mysterious smile and nodded. "If I had a chance…I wouldn't want anybody to know about _this_ as well." Saying so, one of her hair flicked for a moment and turned into a sharp blade, before returning to its soft and silky form.

"No…I guess that everybody would learn about it soon anyway. So I should tell you."

"I'm listening." She gave another small smile.

Naruto took a deep breath.

"We're not humans."

Hinata stood stunned, "I…I'm sorry…? I didn't quite-"

"We're not much more of humans than you are." He sat down on the nearby wooden platform and gazed into the forests afar. "I was once a human…but not now. It has been like this since a long time ago…even before I joined _Fallen_."

There was a sharp intake of breath. "What about Sasuke-san?"

"I'm not sure about his past, but I just found out recently that he was only half-human. I don't know much of the details, except the fact that his father was the leader of the Uchiha clan and that his mother…was a demon."

"But…it's impossible…how could…"

Naruto chuckled, somewhat half-heartedly. "You would have to ask him personally. Sasuke doesn't like to mention anything that has happened before. So he refuses to tell me anything."

"I see…"

A calm breeze blew past them and rustled the leaves on the trees nearby. It was a nice day for a celebration. Yet they wondered why they were having such a heavy and dark topic for conversation. Maybe their pasts were catching up with them.

"Usuratonkachii. I've done some of the preparations already." A voice sounded from behind the pillar.

"Woah! Sasuke!" The Kitsune leapt back and pretended to go into a fighting stance.

"……What the hell are you doing?"

"How long have you been standing there?"

"I just got here, you idiot. I make it a point to not eavesdrop on the conversation of others. Besides, what you say is none of my concern."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh…okay." He turned around and grinned at Hinata, "So, I'll see you later then, Hinata-chan! Thanks for listening to me."

"That was nothing much, really." She nodded, "Do you need some help?"

"Nah, I don't think so. It _is_ a celebration for you after all. I can't possibly get you to do the work right?"

The Kitsune turned around and dashed past Sasuke, leaving the both of them alone. The raven-haired boy placed his hands in his pockets and bowed slightly to Hinata politely. Hinata nervously bowed back as well. Just as he turned around to leave, something strange happened.

Without warning, Hinata stiffened and her eyes became strangely blank.

"I smell…I smell blood…" She muttered quietly.

"What…?" Sasuke immediately faced her and frowned slightly.

"The smell of blood…from nearby…I can smell…blood…killing…"

"Hinata-san…?"

Before he could stop her, Hinata's movement became lightning-quick and she leapt up to the walls which separated the Hyuuga family's compound to the outside. She took one glance at Sasuke and leapt off the other side. There was no time to think. Sasuke leapt up after her and found her running towards the forest.

_The forest...?_ He wanted to turn around for his coat and guns, but she was already speeding out of sight.

The assassin quickened his pace. _Heck. I'll worry about that when I find her._

The dark forests loomed over them, like a sign of foreboding. What was wrong with Hinata? Sasuke felt that the answer was quite simple. Yet she had said that she smelt blood. Was someone killed in the forest? Or was it another assassination job?

Whatever it was, he was going to find out soon enough.

* * *

Itachi grabbed the person by the neck and slashed open his throat before flinging him away like a useless toy. He had got what he wanted; a small deck of cards pertaining to the information of many of the ninjas around the area of Konoha. 

"Hn." He wiped off the blood on his face and gave a disgusted look.

Strolling calmly to a nearby stream, he washed his face with the cooling water and sat down to rest. However, within moments, he sensed something flying towards him and only managed to jump away in time a few seconds beforehand.

"Kunais…?"

"You…" A familiar voice trembled. "I thought you were supposed to be dead!" The opponent's eyes flashed dangerously. The atmosphere around the stream started to intensify.

"That voice…" Itachi looked up; his dim raven eyes stared straight ahead.

"Why…? I thought that I've killed you a long time ago!" The person charged at him with a full forced attack. Itachi could hear the sound of thousand birds screeching right before the attack slammed into the rock behind him when he dodged it. The sound of the large rock cracking into many pieces filled the forest.

"Stop it, _Sasuke!_" He held out a hand to stop the second attack and caught hold of an extremely familiar pair of hands. The crackling sound that was coming from them died down.

"So…you remember." The raven-haired boy seethed.

"You are my brother. How am I supposed to forget you?"

It was strange. Sasuke had always wanted to seek forgiveness from his brother. He had always wanted to see him again...

Yet when he did, something just exploded inside of him.

Just like _that_ day.

"Lies! You're all lying!" Sasuke screamed angrily and struggled to wrestle his hands out of his brother's. "You…You and those lying, pathetic pieces of shit from the Uchiha family! You never gave a damn about me!"

"That's not true."

"It is true!" Anger raged continuously in Sasuke's eyes.

"Even if we did lie…" Itachi spoke calmly and patiently, "Hikari didn't. So why did you kill her?"

"Because she betrayed me!" He snarled and continued his onslaught of hate.

"She did not."

"She chose _you_! Even though she knew that…" Sasuke choked slightly, unable to continue his words.

"She loved you." Itachi felt himself shudder when he mentioned the word 'loved'. He was never good at psychological counseling.

"Another lie."

"Are you sure? Or are you just trying to make up excuses for your mistakes?"

It was then, that Sasuke paused. The anger died down momentarily. _What if Itachi is right…?_ He froze, unable to comprehend what was happening to him. Itachi loosened his grip on him.

"You can't imagine how it has been for her. Being killed by the person she loved, just like that. Watching everybody die…watching her loved one turning into some sort of _demon._"

Sasuke did not say anything and simply sat down with a shocked look on his face, allowing Itachi to continue.

"You're not such a person, Sasuke. Why the hell would you do that?"

"I hated them…" His eyes turned dark and abysmal once more, "They didn't deserve to live."

"What about Hikari?"

"I…"

"She was with you the whole way. Did she deserve it as well?"

_Here...Sasuke-kun. Have this. I know that you've not eaten for the whole of today...so you can have my lunch. I'll be fine, so don't worry!_

Sasuke knew it in the bottom of his heart; she did not deserve it.

_Ne...Sasuke-kun. Do you like anybody now?_

Then why? Why did he do it?

_Ah. You ask me why I would ask such a question...? I just...well...I'm curious!_

Was it because he was jealous? Jealous of how both Itachi and she seemed to get along so well… Angry because he mistook her kindness and love for needless pity?

_Or maybe...because..._

"You know she didn't deserve it." Itachi's monotonous voice rang once again.

_Maybe it's because I like you?_

"Itachi-san!"

A girl threw herself in front of Sasuke and flung her arms out to shield him. "Please don't!" Sasuke heard the familiar tinkling of bells and saw the long blue hair that flowed down her back.

"Hikari…?'

She shook her head and pleaded with him, "I know what he did was wrong, but please don't hurt him!"

"Nobody said anything about hurting him."

"Yes, but-" Hikari paused, "Huh?"

"Even if there is to be any hurting around here, shouldn't you be worrying about me instead? I mean…look at what he did to the rock." He pointed to the crushed pieces of the rock that were lying nearby.

"Oh."

There was a long silence.

"Hikari…?" Sasuke finally managed to find his voice and placed a hand on her shoulder, just to confirm that she was not just a hallucination of his. Slowly, she turned around. Her blue eyes gazed at Sasuke's blood red ones. She bit her lip apprehensively and backed away slightly.

"Sasuke…kun…"

* * *

Sakura: FINALLY. What a long chapter. Well, yeah. I hope you guys enjoyed it. 

: Once again, the author passes out from lack of sleep:

I know that introducing Hikari might be a bit corny, but I really did not think that anybody suited Sasuke well enough. Plus the fact that Hinata would have like…Naruto, Neji and _possibly_ Gaara going after her. Let's not mention that she has Kiba and Shino too! Man. Talk about 'overloved'.

Points to take note of:

1. Something is up with Itachi. Anybody noticed yet? Let's see if you guys can guess.

2. Hikari loves Sasuke, not Itachi. But you know…there's something going on between those two. : winks insanely:

3. Gaara may or may not be making an appearance next chapter.

4. Hinata is still a bioweapon, so her senses are sharp. (Blood…blood…)

5. Sasuke and Itachi are _half_ brothers in this story. (Same father, different mother.)

6. I think there are too many mushy scenes. **WHO WANTS TO SEE SOME ACTION? **(Let's make someone die or something. Ah. Wait. I just made some random guy get killed by Itachi. Okay. I guess there is some brief action.)

7. And no, Naruto isn't human. (He is the ever-so-hot Kyuubi, the nine-tailed fox demon, remember?)

I guess that's all for now. I'll work on the next chapter as soon as possible.

**Warning! This chapter is not proof-read due to lack of time on my side. I would do it soon, but for now, please forgive any possible grammatical or spelling mistakes.**

And also: **Please Read and Review! Like always, flames are not welcomed and would be doused by my personal fire hose before being fed to Akamaru.**

Thanks for reading!


	9. Sasuke and Hikari

Pairings: NaruxHinaxNeji, SasuxHikaxItachi, One-sided TentenxNeji, TemarixShikaxIno and others.

Warning: Possible deep angst at certain times. Slight swearing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Also, I do not own the whole 'position number in the organization thing', I just thought it would be cool to make Sasuke have the same number as Train (from Black Cat). To put it simply, anything that seems similar to the anime Black Cat, or Naruto is copyrighted and **not** mine.

Sakura: Well, one of the reviews said that this should be a SasuxNaru story.

Ahem. I _did_ consider that…BUT I won't be doing so in this story. Maybe in another story…yes. But for now, they are all straight people in this story.

Warning: This chapter includes more emotional scenes than action ones.

This is the new chapter. Read and enjoy.

* * *

Chapter Nine: Sasuke and Hikari 

Sasuke sat quietly on the wooden floor in the Hyuuga family mansion. His eyes flashed once. The Sharingan appeared as he stared at the star-filled sky. The trees in the backyard rustled from a soft breeze. He could hear the others laughing and shouting inside of the house, but there was no place for him there. He was supposed to be alone, so that he would not destroy people or things anymore. It has been that way…since a long time ago. Yet when Tsunade introduced Naruto to him, he felt that his world has changed. At least, that was what he thought.

"_Sasuke...kun..."_

Now he understood. Nothing would ever change. The world would forever remain the way it is; selfish and undesirable. He was happy that Hikari did not die, but upset at the same time as it now meant that it would be harder to gain her forgiveness.

Also…there was Itachi.

* * *

**-Flashback-**

"Sasuke…kun…"

"Hikari…Wh…How…?" He stuttered, feeling her smooth pale skin under his fingers.

The girl backed away apprehensively and looked at him with an expression he could not understand. Sasuke's fingers slipped off her shoulder and hung in midair, motionless. Calmly, Itachi walked forward and pulled Hikari towards him.

"That isn't for you to know." He replied coldly.

"Itachi-san…" Hikari started to plead with him, but was immediately returned with a look that warned her about defying him.

"Give…Give her back…" The raven haired boy stood up unsteadily, with his unease reflected his eyes. He wobbled for a while, being unable to find his balance, before standing up straight properly.

"You don't deserve her." Itachi tightened his grip on Hikari. For a slight moment, his eyes became bright once more and he gazed at his brother with such ferocious intensity, that one might have thought that they were sworn enemies. Sasuke replied with silence; his eyes sorrowful, his soul pleading.

Hikari moved slightly and she raised her hand to reach Sasuke.

"No. You can't." Itachi answered her unsaid question and gave his brother one last look, before he disappeared with Hikari in a cloud of smoke.

**-Flashback Ends-

* * *

**

"Sasuke-san…?" Hinata's voice broke through the thoughts in his mind. Sasuke glanced up, somehow gratefully.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry…you seemed…disturbed." She held her fingers to her lips and gave an apologetic look.

"I'm fine." Sasuke looked away from her, and up at the skies once more.

"Did I do something…? I mean…after I blanked out…"

"No. It has nothing to do with you." He replied coldly.

"Then why are you so upset?"

"I've said that I'm fine."

"Your eyes say otherwise."

Sasuke's eyes caught sight of his reflection in the mirror which stood quietly in a dark room nearby. The Sharingan flashed dangerously; he shuddered and avoided his own gaze.

_Demon._

"No, they don't."

Hinata replied with silence. She slipped down beside him. Sasuke stared at her, unable to comprehend her actions.

"Why don't you head inside?" She asked quietly.

"I hate crowds."

"That's not true, is it?"

When the raven-haired boy refused to give her an answer, Hinata sighed. "Sasuke-san…we all have something to hide. Something we're afraid of." She placed her fingers together and rubbed them slowly. Her eyes stared down at the floor as she continued, "Yet I believe that one day we'll see the light. I mean…weren't you happy when you were with Naruto-kun?"

Sasuke's eyes flashed once more; the blood-red of the Sharingan. It was then he knew.

"That idiot told you everything?"

Hinata gasped and looked away before replying, "Yes. He told me only what he knew."

"Hn." He deactivated his Sharingan and stood up, walking slightly forward. "So you know."

"Not everything." With that, she stood up as well; watching his back carefully.

A long silence ensued. Then a sigh was heard.

"I don't remember anything." Sasuke whispered.

"What…do you mean?"

"I don't remember anything that has happened, when I massacred my clan. Maybe just bits and pieces of it…but it was as if I wasn't the one who was doing the killing."

Sasuke lifted his hands and the moonlight shone on them.

"These hands…that are stained with blood…"

There was another momentarily pause before the boy frowned disdainfully and clenched his fists. Disliking the fact of explaining any further, he settled for a simple answer. "I'm different from the others."

"That's not tru-" Hinata was about to rebuke him when she was stopped by the sorrowful but intensified gaze that Sasuke gave her as he turned around.

"……You don't understand." A soft mutter was heard. He ran his hand through his hair and stared at the night sky. The raven-haired boy used to laugh at the word 'destiny', but now he felt that it had its sense in itself. Was it his choice? Was it his fault that he was born this way?

"I'm different from Naruto. Even if he is a demon now, he used to be human. However, I've always been like this; someone who is neither human nor demon. I don't know what parental love means. I don't know what it_ feels_ like to love someone nor have friends. All that I've seen when I was younger, is the inner part of the jail cell those bastards kept me in. They torture me for fun and throw my bloodied body back into that dark and grim place."

"Sasuke-san…" Hinata could not take her eyes off him. The poor soul whom she might have had never known to have suffered so much.

"They called me, 'The Devil's Spawn'." A slight madness came over his eyes when he spoke those forbidden three words. Hinata took a step backwards, praying that he would not do anything silly.

Sasuke continued to stare at her; his eyes transformed into a blood-red shade once again. A sad smile of rejection and hate played on his lips as he pulled on a dark cloak.

"I guess…it was impossible for me to live in the light, right from the start."

The next thing the Hyuuga heiress heard was a swooshing of a long cloak and Sasuke disappeared into the darkness of the night. She knelt down slowly and shed tears.

"I never knew…I always thought…" She buried her face into her palms and shook her head sadly. Her thoughts suddenly fluttered to Neji, who had sacrificed himself for her not too long ago. Did he watch her fall into the abyss, just like how she had just seen Sasuke disappear as well?

"Oh…Neji-niisan…" She sobbed gently and her tears collected in a pool in front of her.

"What are we all going to do now…?"

* * *

(Meanwhile…) 

Hikari accidentally bumped into a passerby as she wandered aimlessly through the leaf village. After the incident with Sasuke, she felt a surge of unexplainable emotions which were mostly made up of frustration and her heart felt like it was about to be ripped apart from the way she kept thinking about him. Itachi did not speak to her after they got back home. Instead, he simply went for a shower and ignored her presence. Perhaps he was mad at her somehow for forgiving Sasuke so readily. Hikari gazed down with guilt. She knew that Itachi had really suffered, so she should have at least taken his stand when it came to the problem with his brother. Yet something stopped her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She apologized and bowed to the passerby. The lady smiled and waved her hand dismissively before replying that it was alright. Hikari managed to smile a little and continued to wander. It was not long before she reached a particular ramen stall.

"Hey there, young lady." The stall keeper grinned cheerfully. "You look like you could use a bowl of ramen."

"Ah…I'm just…" She thought hard, and decided that she might as well. There was no place for her to return to at the moment anyway. "I'll take up your offer on that." The blue haired girl smiled gently and sat down on one of the high chairs that were at the counter.

"That's the spirit!" The man roared with satisfaction and proceeded to make a delicious bowl of ramen for the downcast girl. Hikari looked around at the quaint little shop and chuckled to herself. It felt warm and kind, just like the shop keeper. For a moment, she seemed to forget about her troubles and the ramen was served to her in no time.

"If you don't mind me asking…why were you feeling so down? I don't mean to pry…but you were one of my most upset customers for a long time to come."

"It's just some personal matters... Thank you for your concern."

The shop keeper scratched his head in resignation that the girl was not about to tell him any more. "You know…you sound exactly like one of my regular customers, except that you're much friendlier, of course."

Hikari lifted her head up from the ramen bowl and placed her chopsticks on the side of it. Curiousity drove her to ask, "Who?"

"Ah… that raven-haired boy who would always come here with Naruto."

Hikari's heart skipped a beat. _Sasuke-kun?_

"Is his name by any chance, Uchiha Sasuke?"

"I'm not so sure about that." The boss thought hard about it and continued, "I think most probably it is. I remember Naruto always calling him 'Teme'. They seem to be close friends."

_A friend…huh._ Hikari felt her spirit lift slightly. It was great to know that Sasuke was not alone as he was before. Maybe it was good for him to have escaped from the clan.

The shop keeper grinned mischievously, "You seem to know that person, young lady. Are you, by any chance, his girlfriend or something?"

A wave of heat rushed up to Hikari's cheeks. Her cheeks flushed a strong shade of red and she waved her hands nervously, "N…No. I'm just an acquaintance, that's all."

"Suspicious." The man narrowed his eyes and rubbed his jaw slowly. Within moments, he flung his hands up in the air and grinned, "It doesn't matter though. Ah…youth is great! I could remember the time when I was younger…"

As she sipped the soup of the ramen gratefully and listened to the shop keeper's story, a flash of soft raven-hair caught Hikari's eye and she turned to glance at the person who had just walked past the stall.

A long dark cloak and that face that used to only smile genuinely for her.

Hikari stood up so suddenly that she nearly spilled the bowl of ramen that was in front of her. _It's him._ A voice called out from inside her mind. Without even thinking twice, she paid the ramen boss and immediately dashed out of the stall.

_Don't go. Please._

Her footsteps became heavier with each step as she struggled to keep up with the cloaked figure that was in front of her. The bells on her garments tinkled as she exerted more effort to reach him. Soon, they reached the dark forest that lay at the center of the village.

To her surprise, the figure stopped and turned around to face her. With blood-red eyes, he spoke calmly, "What do you think you're doing?" A disdainful look came across his face.

Hikari hesitated for a moment, before stepping out into the light. She could hear a sharp intake of breath as the figure observed her features, seemingly unable to believe that she was standing in front of him.

"I…we…" She looked down with concern. "We need to talk."

A 'hmph' sound was heard from the person and he folded his arms. It would seem like he was trying hard to maintain his composure.

"It's about…well…Itachi-san and you."

Without warning, the figure, whose face had been shrouded in darkness since their entrance to the forest, slammed her hard onto a nearby tree. His body pressed hard against hers and she could feel his breath running down her neck. Both of his arms leaned against the tree and surrounded her, in order to prevent her escape. Hikari swallowed hard and kept her eyes focused on that pair of blood red eyes, which returned an intense glare.

"Don't talk to me about some other guy you have." He growled.

"But it's really important…" Hikari pleaded, somehow in vain.

"He is none of my concern."

"Sasuke-kun…please." She shut her eyes tightly and shook her head.

A moment passed, before Sasuke returned to his usual calm self and spoke coldly, "Why ask you so worried about him?"

Hikari opened her eyes and shuddered slightly. Sasuke was too close for comfort. "It's…I feel that I owed him this."

"You owe him this?" A brief and sarcastic laughter rang through the air around them. Sasuke leaned in towards Hikari and whispered in her ear, "Then you must have owed me a lot."

Hikari tried to speak, but was cut off immediately by the raven haired boy who now had the same agitated look in his eyes as he did before. "Why don't you tell me…about where you were when I needed you? Tell me…about how you were away with that bastard, frolicking somewhere… When I was screaming for your name?"

"Sasuke-kun, please stop this." She was close to tears. _Since when did Sasuke become this scary?_

The raven haired boy gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. He wanted to hurt her, so badly. Yet something inside of him was holding back. He kept telling himself that Hikari was in the wrong. She chose Itachi instead of him, and now she was going to pay for it dearly. He thought back to the days, when Hikari was the only thing that mattered to him. Her presence kept him going through those days of torture and horror.

"Sasuke-kun…?" A soft voice in front of him broke the silence and his train of thoughts.

_You never did know, didn't you?_ He looked at her for the first time, with a genuinely calm and forlorn look. Hikari blinked slowly and flinched when he started to reach out for her. His cold fingers touched her pale skin and he gave a pained look.

He had really missed her so much. So much so, that his heart was breaking; that he was unable to breathe or even think properly.

"Why won't you love me?"

Hikari's eyes widened as she saw the dark wings sprouting from Sasuke's back and within a split second, he was gone. She opened a palm to receive one of the feathers and at the moment it touched her fingers, the feather started to burn and eventually disintegrated.

She stood there, speechless. Once again, her attempts to tell Sasuke about his brother's condition had failed and now, she was not even sure whether she had the courage to continue to lie to him any further.

_Sasuke-kun has every right to hate me…_ She thought to herself, as she started to shed silent tears.

* * *

**-Flashback-**

A young Sasuke breathed in deeply. The wounds were killing him. This time the adults took a whole chunk out of his flesh and if it was not treated soon, he would probably rot to death. _What a way to go..._ He winced in pain and frowned.

"Sasuke-kun!" A girl had slammed open the prison's door and flung herself into his arms.

Usually, he would have been happy but this time, her clothes touched his open wound and he nearly screamed an obscenity. "CRAP! Hikari, please get off!"

"Ah! I'm sorry!" She let go of him and took a step backwards. As she did so, she noticed the pool of blood around him and on her robes. Sasuke bit his lip slightly and took a while to calm down. A pained expression came over Hikari's face as she ripped her sleeves to create bandages for him.

"Wha…? Wait, Hikari! What are you doing?" He exclaimed as she took a bottle of medicine she had with her and gave him a concerned look, "This might hurt a little." She poured the seemingly acidic liquid onto the wound and Sasuke immediately flinched. Once she was done, she wrapped the bandages gently around his wound and tied it properly so that it would not get loose. All this while, Sasuke was gazing at her with a strange expression in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." She looked down, evidently very upset.

"Why should you be? I mean…I stained your robes with all this blood…and then you even had to rip them off to make bandages for me." He fiddled with the white cloth. A small smile played in his mind when he thought of her concern for him.

"You've got hurt so badly this time."

"It doesn't matter. It's not your fault."

"But you…"

Sasuke pulled her into an embrace. "I'm fine." He held her with the arm that was not wounded and spoke gently, "It wasn't your fault that they had to treat me like this. I know that you couldn't stop them either."

Hikari hugged him back. "I'm sorry."

"You're always saying 'sorry', you know." He leaned back on the wall, with Hikari lying on his chest. It would have been sweet, to see the two children so close with each other, if it had not been that they were in a jail cell, in the middle of a pool of blood.

"Sasuke-kun…"

"Yes?"

"Today…" She started hesitantly. Would Sasuke get angry if he knew? "The council seemed to decide that I am to marry Itachi-san when I grow older."

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock, "What the hell…?"

"I think it was a suggestion that was made by one of the elders in the council." She avoided his gaze, knowing that he would be most upset by this news.

Sasuke kept silent for a while, as if deep in thought. Soon, his voice rang once more, calm and thoughtful. "Are you going to accept it?"

"No! I…I want to always…" Hikari stopped short and blushed at what she thought she was going to say.

"You want to…?"

Hikari finished the rest of the sentence quietly. It was soft, but Sasuke caught each and every single word of it. Smiling for the first time after so long, he sighed. "You're so stubborn."

"So are you." Hikari replied grumpily as she knew that Sasuke was going to make fun of her.

_I want to...stay by your side forever._

**-Flashback Ends-

* * *

**

(Some time after their encounter…)

"The last time you came into this office, Number XIII, you had a look on your face that displayed your urge to eat me and spit my bones out." The Hokage sighed. It was getting harder to be an 'old lady'. "This time, you look like you want to obliterate this entire office while I am still stamping my documents dutifully."

The Uchiha gave an emotionless reply. A murderous aura continued to emit from his surroundings.

"You've been acting weirdly lately. Is there anything you would wish to discuss with me?"

_Why is everybody asking me that?_

"No." A straight answer was given once again, "If you don't mind, I would like for a mission to clear my mind."

The Hokage frowned and surveyed him. "Do you have any specific kind which you would like?" If it would help to clear her top assassin's mind, it did not really matter to her what she needed to assign him to.

"S ranked missions would be fine."

Stunned, Tsunade paused from her work. "Are you serious?"

It took a lot of effort for Sasuke to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Yes."

The Hokage sighed since it was hard to get him to change his mind once he had decided on something. She walked to her 'S ranked missions' cabinet and pulled out a file. She laid it gently on the desk and signaled for Sasuke to read it. Slowly, she sat down onto her chair and placed fingers of her hands together.

The Uchiha scanned the details of the mission and smiled slightly to himself. "I suppose that this is a really special mission?" The exercise would be aplenty and he was going to enjoy this. A murderous look came across his face and the twin guns on his belt glinted playfully.

"Well, you asked for it. Besides, you seemed to need something hardcore to knock some sense into that negative head of yours."

"Hn."

"This time, the mission is to infiltrate a lair of some homo whom I really hate." Tsunade took out a bottle of sake and a look that told Sasuke she was thinking of the past came across her face.

"Are you sure this isn't personal?"

"No. He's a dangerous man that must be taken down as soon as possible. In fact, I would think that it's almost impossible for anybody to kill him except you or Naruto."

Sasuke did not reply. He held onto the file and leapt onto the window. "If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." The wind blew and his cloak flapped in the wind. Tsunade stared at one of her toughest assassins and smiled weakly, "Number- Ah. Sasuke-kun. Please take care. It may not seem like it, but there _are _people who care about you."

The assassin smirked, "I'll keep that in mind." It was hard to tell whether he meant it. Perhaps he was just saying so to satisfy her. With that, he leapt out of the open window and disappeared into the night's sky.

Tsunade relaxed a little and sunk further into her large chair. It was then something hit her.

"Ah…shit. I forgot to ask him if he wanted Naruto to go along."

The Hokage frowned. It was getting irritating when her subordinates do not tell her what was going on with them.

"I guess it'll have to wait till tomorrow."

* * *

Sakura: Okay. Finally this chapter is done. It took me so long to get my mind working on this. I kept thinking that I had screwed up this story. Anyways, it turned out to be just fine. So yay! 

P.S: I'll try to add in more humor in the next chapter.

Next chapter: A new mission? Oh my god! There's a freaky person in the house! Will Sasuke be able to keep his sanity when the darkness seems to stretch to him in all ways possible? (We mean it.) And how will Naruto react when he finds out his best friend is gone?

**Read and Review please! This is another chapter made by me after hours of long hard work. So please do review.**

**Once again, no flames are accepted. Any flames found would be dragged away by my evil plot bunny and smashed to death with a wooden club.**


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